The DJIA fell about 120 points (0.24%) on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 dropped about 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite fell about 0.8%. The Dow and S&P 500 have fallen in four of the past five weeks, and the Nasdaq entered the week after five straight weekly declines.<\/p>\n
The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to about 4.03%, a two-month low after last Friday\u2019s cooler-than-expected CPI report. Tech shares fell, with Salesforce down about 2.5% and CrowdStrike down more than 2% after a Mizuho rating cut.<\/p>\n
Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom also traded lower. Chevron fell 2.6% and Caterpillar dropped 2.1%, while Travelers rose 1.8%, Visa gained 1.5%, and Apple added 1%.<\/p>\n
Danaher fell about 6% after agreeing to buy Masimo for $180 per share in an all-cash deal worth about $9.9 billion. The offer is a 38% premium to Masimo\u2019s Friday close, and Masimo rose about 34%; the deal is set to close in the second half of 2026.<\/p>\n
Warner Bros Discovery rose more than 2% as it reopened talks with Paramount Skydance, up about 3%, with a seven-day waiver running to 23 February. Paramount may raise its all-cash offer to at least $31 per share from $30, while Netflix\u2019s $83 billion enterprise-value deal remains in place.<\/p>\n
The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index was 7.1 versus 6 expected and 7.7 in January. FOMC Minutes are due Wednesday, markets price about two 25-basis-point cuts by year-end with June as the likely first cut, and Friday brings PCE and preliminary Q4 GDP; Palo Alto Networks reports with revenue seen at $2.58 billion and adjusted EPS at $0.94, after beating revenue estimates in every quarter for two years.<\/p>\n
With the Nasdaq now posting its fifth consecutive weekly decline entering this week, we see a clear trend of weakness in technology. Traders should consider buying puts on tech-heavy indices like the QQQ to hedge against or profit from further downside. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, has climbed to 19.5, a significant rise from the low teens we saw in late 2025, suggesting more turbulence ahead.<\/p>\n
The ongoing anxiety around AI’s impact on software and hardware is creating opportunities for bearish plays. We believe purchasing puts on names like Salesforce (CRM) and Nvidia (NVDA) remains a viable strategy, as the market questions their lofty valuations. Year-to-date, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) is already down nearly 8%, and this momentum appears set to continue through the end of the month.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s upcoming FOMC minutes and PCE data will be critical for rate-sensitive positions. Given the 10-year Treasury yield is at two-month lows, call options on Treasury ETFs like the TLT could be a good way to bet on yields falling further. The CME FedWatch tool now shows a 75% probability of a rate cut by the June meeting, a conviction that will be tested by Friday\u2019s inflation data.<\/p>\n
Merger activity is injecting volatility into specific sectors, a notable shift after a slower M&A environment in 2025. With the Warner Bros and Paramount talks creating uncertainty, using a straddle on Paramount (PSKY) could capture a significant price swing regardless of the outcome. Similarly, the drop in Danaher’s (DHR) stock post-acquisition announcement could be played by purchasing puts if we believe the market will continue to penalize the high premium paid for Masimo.<\/p>\n
The upcoming Palo Alto Networks (PANW) earnings report after the bell is a prime event for an options play. Given the stock’s history of beating estimates, coupled with the current tech sector anxiety, a significant price move is likely. The options market is currently pricing in an 11% post-earnings move, making a long straddle a way to bet on volatility itself.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. stocks slid as yields fell; tech lagged, Danaher-Masimo deal surged, and key Fed data awaited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":16992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t