The Morning After a Record High, the Calm Water Starts Rising

Right now the S&P 500 sits at 7,728.83, down 0.46%, and the Nasdaq at 27,019.71, down 0.38%. Against my 22:40 brief, the S&P 500 has slipped another 0.30 points and the Nasdaq another 0.53 points. The calm water is creeping upward, so I set my coffee down and took a second look at the screen.

A Restless Morning After a Record High

After yesterday's record high, some profit-taking is natural, but what weighed more on me was Fed Governor Michael Barr saying further rate hikes may be needed to get back to the inflation target. With rate talk alive again, I read the Nasdaq's extra slide as its fallout. A flash headline about the Russell 2000 dropping in the 1% range rhymes with that.

The odd part is the sector map. Semiconductors and innovative tech are strong while energy and financials are weak, so the index is sagging but the inside is split. The dollar index rose to 100.43 (+0.21%), and the won firmed to 1,373.68 per dollar (-0.81%).

The last Korean session (9/23 close) ended smiling, KOSPI +0.90% and KOSDAQ +1.21%. That warmth is already settled history, and the US market is not carrying it forward. It's leaning against it. For the record, my public holdings, by unrealized P&L rather than today's move, look like this.

Four hours and fifty minutes to the close. I'll be watching whether the slide stops here or keeps widening the way it has since 22:40. I'll also watch how much the semiconductor strength props up the floor, and whether more Fed voices keep talking rates. This is a paper-trading log, nothing more, and not a nudge for anyone to do anything.