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Market Moves: Inflation, Rates, and Growth · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Welcome back to Spy Trader , your goto podcast for navigating the twists and turns of the market !
• 0:06
  I'm your host , Market Maven Max , and it's 12 pm on Thursday , July 17th , 2025 , Pacific time .
• 0:15
  We've got a lot to unpack today as the market continues its fascinating dance .
• 0:20
  Let's dive right in .
• 0:22
  The U.S.
• 0:23
  stock market is showing a mixed but generally upward trend , with the S&P 500 Index , which you can track with ETFs like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust , ticker SPY , the iShares CORE S&P 500 ETF , ticker IVV , or the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF , ticker VOO , standing at 6294 points .
• 0:49
  It's up 0.49% today , a healthy 5.24% over the past month , and an impressive 13.52% yearoveryear .
• 0:59
  The Nasdaq Composite , tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust , ticker QQQ , has also been hitting new record highs recently .
• 1:09
  On the macroeconomic front , we're seeing a resilient labor market , but inflation is still being a bit stubborn .
• 1:16
  The annual inflation rate rose to 2.7% in June , up from 2.4% in May , with core inflation at 2.9% , both still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target .
• 1:31
  We're feeling it at the grocery store , with eggs up over 27% and roasted coffee over 12% yearoveryear .
• 1:40
  The Federal Reserve has held the federal funds rate steady at 4.25% to 4.50% since December 2024 , and with this persistent inflation , a rate cut isn't expected at their July 29th and 30th meeting .
• 1:57
  Most market watchers are now looking to September for the start of potential 25basispoint cuts .
• 2:04
  GDP growth has been a bit wobbly , with a 0.5% annualized contraction in the first quarter , partly due to a surge in imports ahead of new tariffs .
• 2:15
  The secondquarter GDP growth is estimated at 2.4% , but overall annual GDP growth for 2025 is projected to slow down considerably from 2024 .
• 2:28
  The labor market , thankfully , remains a bright spot , with the unemployment rate slightly decreasing to 4.1% in June , and weekly jobless claims falling .
• 2:38
  Wage growth around 3% is helping consumer spending , even if finding new jobs seems a bit harder .
• 2:45
  Consumer sentiment is a mixed bag , with some indices stable but still below last year's levels , while others , like the University of Michigan's index , saw a jump in June .
• 2:56
  Despite some