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Trade War Terror: The Tech Bloodbath · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Welcome back to Spy Trader , the only podcast that helps you trade the dips and the rips !
• 0:06
  I'm your host , Skip Ticker .
• 0:08
  It's 6 am on Saturday , October 11th , 2025 , Pacific time , and while the market is resting , our stress levels are not .
• 0:17
  We just closed out a week defined by one of the most dramatic reversals we’ve seen all year , erasing all weekly gains in a massive Friday selloff .
• 0:27
  The S&P 500 dropped 2.7% and the techheavy Nasdaq Composite led the decline , plunging 3.6% .
• 0:36
  This was the worst singleday percentage decline since April , shattering the calm that saw indices hit alltime highs just days earlier .
• 0:45
  The sudden shift was driven by two major geopolitical and domestic crises colliding .
• 0:51
  The primary catalyst was a rapid escalation of USChina trade tensions .
• 0:56
  President Trump threatened a massive increase in tariffs on Chinese imports , responding directly to China's new export controls on rare earth minerals and an antitrust investigation into US chipmaker Qualcomm .
• 1:11
  Secondly , compounding this uncertainty , the federal government shutdown has now entered its second week , delaying key economic data releases .
• 1:20
  In response , investors bolted for safety .
• 1:24
  The yield on the 10year Treasury note fell to a more than onemonth low , and gold surged past the 4,000 per ounce mark , confirming the global flight to safe havens .
• 1:35
  Meanwhile , fears of slowing industrial demand caused crude oil futures to sink 5.3% , hitting their lowest level since May .
• 1:44
  When we look at sector performance , Tech was absolutely decimated due to its heavy China exposure .
• 1:51
  The AI momentum trade paused abruptly .
• 1:55
  Advanced Micro Devices , or AMD , fell 7.8% , Nvidia dropped 4.9% even after briefly setting a new high earlier in the day , and Qualcomm slid 7.3% following the antitrust probe news .
• 2:11
  Even companies like Amazon , which would be hit by broader tariffs on Chinese goods , dropped 5% .
• 2:19
  This massive , broadbased drop suggests the market is quickly moving from a ' pricedforperfection' model — focused solely on AI hype and rate cuts — to a ' riskoff ' geopolitical environment .
• 2:30
  Our insight here is clear : trade wars hit the most global companies the hardest , and that is Tech .
• 2:37
  However , amidst the chaos , we saw pockets of intense strength .
• 2:41
  Consumer Staples giant PepsiCo , or PEP , surged another 3.7% after beating Q3 earnings estimates .
• 2:49
  And due to China's actions on rare earth minerals , domestic producers like MP Materials shot up about 11 to 15% .
• 2:58
  So , what do we do next week ?
• 2:59
  We need a defensive posture .
• 3:01
  Given the trade risks , we recommend rotating away from highbeta growth and toward Defensive/Value sectors .
• 3:08
  For specific defensive equity exposure , look toward the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund , XLV , or stick with resilient Consumer Staples like PepsiCo , PEP .
• 3:20
  For your core portfolio , it's about diversification , favoring largecap quality over concentrated tech risk for now .
• 3:28
  Continue dollarcost averaging into a broad ETF like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF , VOO , but maybe hold off on adding aggressively to the concentrated Invesco QQQ Trust .
• 3:42
  Finally , given the clear signal from the bond and gold markets , increase your safehaven allocation .
• 3:49
  A core fixedincome position like the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF , BND , or the gold exposure provided by the SPDR Gold Shares , GLD , serves as an excellent hedge against geopolitical uncertainty .
• 4:05
  This market is shifting , traders , stay nimble , stay safe , and we'll catch you on the next episode of Spy Trader !