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Dow 50,000: Tech Triumphs and a New Fed Era · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Hello everyone and welcome back to the Spy Trader podcast !
• 0:04
  I am your host , Barnaby Bonds , and I am so glad you could join me for this very exciting market update .
• 0:10
  It is currently 2:30 pm on Thursday , May 14th , 2026 , out here on the Pacific coast , and boy , do we have a lot to talk about .
• 0:19
  We are witnessing a truly historic session on Wall Street today .
• 0:24
  The major indices are all hitting fresh alltime highs .
• 0:28
  The S&P 500 , tracked by the SPY ETF , is up point eight percent to a record 7,501.24 .
• 0:37
  Meanwhile , the Dow Jones Industrial Average has finally crossed that massive 50,000 milestone for the first time since the start of the Iran conflict , sitting at over 50,063 .
• 0:50
  And the Nasdaq , or the QQQ , is up point nine percent to its own record .
• 0:56
  The big drivers today are a mix of positive geopolitical news coming out of Beijing , some incredible tech earnings , and a major changing of the guard at the Federal Reserve .
• 1:06
  Let's dive into the details .
• 1:09
  The tech sector , represented by XLK , is our absolute star today .
• 1:14
  Cisco Systems , ticker CSCO , surged over fourteen percent after a huge earnings beat and a raised forecast .
• 1:22
  They are sitting on a nine billion dollar backlog for AI infrastructure .
• 1:27
  Broadcom , ticker AVGO , is also up five and a half percent .
• 1:32
  This Cisco rally and Nvidia’s continued dominance are pushing things higher .
• 1:37
  Speaking of Nvidia , the TrumpXi Summit in Beijing has been a huge catalyst .
• 1:42
  We are hearing reports that the U.S.
• 1:44
  has cleared sales of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to certain Chinese firms , which sent Nvidia to a record valuation of nearly five point six trillion dollars .
• 1:56
  Plus , China agreed to buy 200 Boeing aircraft , which is great for industrials .
• 2:01
  Over at the Federal Reserve , today is Kevin Warsh’s first day as Chair , taking over for Jerome Powell .
• 2:08
  While he is known for being a bit more hawkish , the market seems happy just to have the uncertainty of the transition behind us .
• 2:15
  Even though April inflation came in at three point eight percent due to high energy prices , strong retail sales are keeping investors optimistic .
• 2:24
  Not everything is up , though .
• 2:27
  Real estate , ticker VNQ , is down about point three percent because those tenyear Treasury yields are sitting near four point four seven percent .
• 2:36
  Energy is also a bit shaky even with oil at 101 dollars a barrel .
• 2:41
  So , what are we doing with our money ?
• 2:43
  First , for aggressive growth , I still like the AI backbone strategy .
• 2:48
  Stick with the Invesco QQQ Trust or the Technology Select Sector SPDR , XLK .
• 2:55
  The results from Cisco and Nvidia prove that the spending on AI data centers is only accelerating .
• 3:02
  If you want more specific names , look at Broadcom or Arista Networks .
• 3:06
  Second , let’s talk about a global pivot .
• 3:09
  The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF , ticker VXUS , has actually been outperforming the S&P 500 this year , nine percent to five point four percent .
• 3:22
  I would suggest putting about fifteen to twenty percent of your equity into VXUS to hedge against any potential tariff drama here at home .
• 3:30
  For safety , gold and bonds are your friends .
• 3:33
  With inflation at three point eight percent and tensions in the Middle East , SPDR Gold Shares , or GLD , is a smart hedge .
• 3:41
  The iShares Core U.S.
• 3:42
  Aggregate Bond ETF , AGG , is also looking good with yields near four percent .
• 3:48
  Finally , for a sector rotation , look at Health Care , ticker XLV It just hit a technical Buy signal today and offers a nice dividend .
• 3:57
  I would recommend moving maybe five percent of your portfolio out of those highflying energy stocks like XLE and into XLV for better riskadjusted returns for the rest of the year .
• 4:10
  Thanks for tuning in to Spy Trader !
• 4:12
  I will be back in a few hours with more updates .
• 4:15
  Happy trading !