September 25, 2025

Markets:

S&P 500 futures slipped Thursday, pressured by continued weakness in Nvidia and Oracle as investors await fresh unemployment data.

Losses in those names, along with Micron Technology, dragged the major averages lower for a second straight session on Wednesday.

The weekly jobless claims report, due today, will be a key data point for the Federal Reserve as concerns grow over a softening labor market and rising layoffs. Initial claims eased last week after a brief spike the week before.

On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that the slowdown in hiring is outweighing inflation concerns, reinforcing the FOMC’s recent decision to cut interest rates for the first time this year. Powell pointed to “a marked slowdown” in supply and demand and warned that “in this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment have risen.”

After hours, Intel shares rose 1.6% following reports that the chipmaker is in early talks with Apple about a potential investment. While the discussions could deepen their collaboration, Bloomberg noted an agreement is not guaranteed.

Portfolio:

Premarket trading shows a near-perfect ES channel drift lower (30–60 min view) — a controlled pullback we flagged earlier this week. This is why we’ve been using this phase to begin layering in longer-dated October options as part of our Q4 plan. Classic end-of-quarter noise before the next major move.

Buyers remain present, but stalling price action and weakening breadth from top market leaders make it tough to go long aggressively here. Patience is key. We still expect a turn heading into the weekend. A SPY break below 655 would shift our short-term outlook and demand attention before the broader move higher resumes.

For now, discipline is critical with key data on deck over the next two days. Maintain stops and targets on current positions in FUBO, RR, CIFR, and EOSE.  Be ready today.