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 (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 (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.
Modify on 2025-09-20 00:13
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.
- Wade Shaw·09-20PRCH/OUST: any earnings catalysts before Nov expiry?LikeReport
- Megan Barnard·09-20Swap OUST calls for puts; inflation risks weigh on growth.LikeReport
- Phyllis Strachey·09-20PRCH’s 21 EMA support—will Fed division break it?LikeReport
- MichaelPerez·09-20Sounds like a smart approachLikeReport
- vi123123·09-20Tactical plays aheadLikeReport
