The Trading Post | 07.16.25

July 16, 2025

Good morning,

Inflation torched rate-cut fantasies, banks flexed solid earnings muscle, ASML crushed estimates but tanked anyway, Bitcoin took a breather after touching the stratosphere, and Trump’s tariff saber-rattling threatens to blow up half your portfolio.

Skip the hours of market research and let AI do the heavy lifting with Wealth Builders HQ's free collection of 10 professionally-crafted trading prompts. 

Let’s jump in.

Pre-Market Performance

As of 07.15.25 market close.

Market News

  • Inflation Data Sparks Market Volatility as Fed Rate Cut Bets Diminish: CPI jumped 2.7% y/y, the fastest clip since February, nuking September rate-cut odds down to 56.5%. Ten-year yields punched up to 4.48%. Rotate out of REITs and growth stocks unless you enjoy pain. Fortune

  • Major Bank Earnings Beat Expectations Despite Market Concerns: Goldman, BofA, and Morgan Stanley all beat estimates. Net interest margins are smiling, and traders are counting cash. Money-center banks look like your new best friends. CNBC

  • ASML Plunges 7% Despite Strong Earnings on 2026 Growth Concerns: ASML crushed Q2 earnings, then dropped like a stone on “meh” guidance for 2026. The chip gods giveth and taketh away. Might be time to dollar-cost-average into AI infrastructure gold. Investing.com

  • Bitcoin Consolidates Near $116,500 After $123,000 Peak: BTC cooled off 2.8% after becoming more valuable than Amazon (because why not?). Analysts see healthy consolidation between $110K–$125K. Keep stops tight, degens. News18

  • Trump’s Tariff Threats Roil Markets as August 1 Deadline Approaches: Trump’s going scorched earth with 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico goods. Effective U.S. tariff rates now highest since 1910. Expect winners in domestic manufacturing and losers among import-heavy retailers. Oh, and your grocery bill’s going up… again. Bloomberg

A Message From Wealth Builders HQ

Supercharge Your Trading Research with AI 

The markets move fast, and manual research can eat up precious trading hours. That's why the team at Wealth Builders HQ developed something game-changing: 10 AI-powered trading prompts that deliver institutional-quality market analysis in minutes, not hours. 

These aren't generic ChatGPT questions. Each prompt was crafted by veteran traders and coaches with over 100 years of combined market experience. They're designed to extract the exact information you need to make better trading decisions across stocks, options, and futures. 

What you'll get: 

  • Market sentiment analysis for key stocks and sectors 

  • Critical Fed updates and economic indicator insights 

  • High-probability trading opportunity identification 

  • Unusual options activity alerts 

  • Emerging sector analysis 

  • Earnings impact assessments 

Whether you're analyzing market sentiment before the open, spotting unusual options flow, or identifying emerging sector rotations, these prompts save you hours of research while delivering actionable insights. 

The best part? They're completely free.  

All trading involves risk of loss. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always confirm information from AI-generated research.  

Earnings We’re Watching

  • Bank of America Corp. (BAC) - Wednesday (BMC) 

  • Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) - Wednesday (BMC) 

  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Wednesday (BMC) 

  • M&T Bank Corp (MTB) - Wednesday (BMC) 

  • Morgan Stanley (MS) - Wednesday (BMC) 

  • PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC) - Wednesday (BMC) 

  • Progressive Corp. (PGR) - Wednesday (BMC) 

  • Alcoa, Inc. (AA) - Wednesday (AMC) 

  • United Airlines (UAL) - Wednesday (AMC) 

Trade Ideas

Workday, Inc. (WDAY), Wynn Resorts, Inc. (WYNN), Accenture Plc (ACN), American Tower Corporation (AMT)

TE Connectivity Ltd (TEL), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufactu (TSM), UnitedHealth Group Incorporate (UNH), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorpo (VRTX)

S&P Global Inc (SPGI), Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD), Atlassian Corporation (TEAM), Direxion Tech Bull 3x Shares (TECL)

Lennar Corporation (LEN), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), QUALCOMM (QCOM), Roku, Inc (ROKU)

Gilead Sciences, Inc (GILD), SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (HLT), Kkr (KKR)

Capital One Financial Corporation (COF), Salesforce.com (CRM), Chevron Corporation (CVX), EOG Resources, Inc (EOG)

Accenture plc (ACN), American Tower Corporation (AMT), Broadcom, Inc (AVGO), Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX)

Want to learn how we trade these? Learn the setup we call the “High Volatility Switchback” trade.

Get these ideas delivered to your inbox daily with Trade With Rob. It’s 100% free. Sign up here.

Daily Moment of Zen

❝

Always understand the risk/reward of the trade as it now stands, not as it existed when you put the position on.

Bill Lipschutz

Why It Matters:

Markets don’t care about your feelings or your entry price. That “perfect setup” you bought last week might now be a flaming dumpster fire. Stubbornly clinging to your original thesis because “I’m only down 15%, it’ll bounce!” is how small drawdowns become big obituary-worthy losses.

The market’s changed? Your trade’s context changed? So should your plan. Reassess risk/reward right now — not based on your rosy memories from entry. Remember: charts have no sympathy, and your broker certainly doesn’t.