Fed Cut Fails to Excite Markets – Setting Up Tactical Plays [18 Sept 2025]

‌## 📅 *Fed Cut Fails to Excite Markets – Setting Up Tactical Plays

The Fed delivered the widely anticipated **25bps rate cut**, and markets barely blinked. The **dot plot** revealed a divided board: nine governors see two more cuts this year, six expect no further cuts, and one even forecasts an aggressive 125bps of cuts in 2025. The **Summary of Economic Projections (SEP)** muddied things further — GDP estimates were revised higher, unemployment lower, and inflation hotter — yet policy still eased.

Normally such dovishness would send risk assets higher, but perhaps the **memory of the 2022 inflation shock** still restrains exuberance. Equity indices churned sideways as traders weighed growth optimism against persistent price pressures.

With this uncertain backdrop, I’m setting up trades with **defined risk and technical confirmation**:

$PRCH 20251121 17.5 CALL$   ‌

**PRCH (Long Calls)** ‌

Plan to buy Nov $17.5 calls if price continues to respect support near the 21 EMA and Fib retracement cluster. A technical bounce here could trigger a momentum shift back toward prior swing highs.

‌$OUST 20251121 25.0 CALL$   ‌

**OUST (Long Calls)** 

Looking at Nov $25 calls if strength across intraday and daily charts persists. Positive momentum across multiple timeframes and relative sector strength suggest potential for trend continuation.

‌$SPY Vertical 251017 675C/680C$   ‌

**SPY (Call Credit Spread – Hedge)** 

Considering an out-of-the-money call credit spread to balance exposure. Seasonal weakness around **triple witching** combined with bearish divergences makes this a tactical hedge against my long setups.