Market Insights: Navigating a Mixed Bag

Fresh news and strategies for traders. SPY Trader episode #1163. Hey everybody, it's your pal Wally Pip here, and welcome to 'Spy Trader'! It's 6 am on Wednesday, May 14th, 2025, and time for your morning dose of market news. Let's dive right in! Yesterday was a bit of a mixed bag, folks. The S&P 500 finally clawed its way back into positive territory for the year, closing up 0.7% and bringing its yeartodate gain to a tiny 0.1%. Woohoo! But the Dow wasn't feeling the love, it closed down 0.64%, and is still down 1% for the year. Nasdaq's also lagging, down 1.6% since January. So, what's driving all this? Well, we saw a nice little tech rally yesterday, mostly thanks to Nvidia. Seems like they're shipping those AI chips to Saudi Arabia, and Wall Street's pretty happy about it, with their stock jumping 5.6%. We also had a bit of a relief rally after the US and China decided to ease up on tariffs for the next 90 days. Hopefully, that'll keep inflation in check. Speaking of inflation, the latest CPI data came in a little softer than expected. Good news, right? Inflation rose at an annual rate of 2.3% in April, which is the lowest we've seen in a while, since early 2021. Now, for the notsogreat news: it looks like the economy might be slowing down. S&P Global Ratings is predicting GDP growth will cool to 1.9% in both 2025 and 2026. Other firms have different forecasts, but the general consensus seems to be that growth is slowing. And even though inflation is cooling a bit, there are still concerns that those tariffs could keep it higher than we'd like. S&P Global Ratings thinks inflation will stay closer to 3.0% next year because of them. Also, unemployment is expected to creep up, maybe hitting 4.6% by mid2026. So, what does all this mean for your hardearned cash? Well, first off, diversification is always your friend. Make sure you're spread out across all sectors. Given the concerns about slowing growth and inflation, you might want to think about tilting towards more defensive sectors like consumer staples and healthcare. People always need to eat and go to the doctor, right? And keep a close eye on those economic numbers – inflation, GDP, unemployment. They'll give you clues about where the market might be headed. Finally, stay informed! Read the news, listen to podcasts... okay, maybe just this podcast. Now, for the disclaimer: I'm just a humble podcast host, not a financial advisor. This isn't financial advice, so please talk to a professional before making any big decisions. That's all for today, folks! Happy trading, and I'll catch you next time on 'Spy Trader'!