Markets ended Thursday on a down note despite a strong open driven by bank and semiconductor momentum earlier in the week. The Dow fell 0.65%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.63%, and the Nasdaq lost 0.47%, erasing some of Wednesday’s optimism. Investors were caught between a steady drumbeat of solid earnings and the drag of D.C. dysfunction, as the government shutdown stretched into its sixteenth day with no deal in sight

Big bank follow-through wasn’t enough to keep risk appetite alive: Schwab, Travelers, and U.S. Bancorp delivered mixed results, cooling the early-week rally that Bank of America and Morgan Stanley had sparked. At the same time, gold soared above $4,330, marking yet another record amid the policy fog, while crude slipped below $58, pressured by weaker demand and shifting trade routes after India signaled it might reduce Russian oil imports. The mood? Risk-on discipline meets risk-off fatigue… a fitting summary for a market trying to price both dovish certainty and fiscal chaos.

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Keeping it short and sweet this evening…

Sam Ro (via TKer) lays down 10 timeless truths about the stock market. These are not flashy new takes, but foundational principles (backed by charts and hard data) that survive cycles. From “the long game is undefeated” to “valuation tells little about next year,” each truth is a mental anchor in moments of hype. He tackles drawdowns, asymmetric upside, turnover, and the constant tension between market and economy.

As official data dries up and narratives swirl, this piece is your sanity check.

In this episode of Top Traders Unplugged, macro strategist Mark Rzepczynski unpacks how the next crisis WON’T look like 2008… 

Instead, it’ll be about how safety is priced, how leverage is layered, and how liquidity can vanish when everyone leans the same way. He argues that in today's world, perception of risk and funding stress (not fundamentals) can flip safe into deadly fast.

Rzepczynski walks through the mechanics: repo, derivatives, hedged leverage, and margin engines. He shows how when “safe assets” are borrowed to fund leverage, they can unravel in a crisis; how sovereign bonds can become liabilities; and how central banks are on weaker footing when everyone eyes them at once. For traders, this is your map to unraveling the next shock: watch funding spreads, cross-asset hedging pressures, and signs that “safe” is becoming the squeeze point.

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Looking ahead, Friday brings Tesla’s pre-earnings sentiment test, as traders brace for the EV giant’s first results since the tax-credit rollback under the Trump plan. That report could shape not just tech sentiment, but broader cyclical appetite heading into next week. Economic focus shifts to housing and manufacturing data, but with Powell’s October cut now seen as a lock, the market’s real question is how deep the easing cycle will run… and whether it can offset the drag from Washington gridlock.

Globally, expect eyes on Asia’s open after the KOSPI’s trade-driven bounce and Japan’s hawkish split at the BOJ. With gold’s melt-up and yields’ slide, defensive trades still rule the tone. As our evening read reminded readers today, history’s constants rarely change: volatility fades, but it never dies.