Episode 27: Building Wealth Podcast with Steven Sitkowski (AI, Interest Rates, and How Spread Trades Work)
- MMG Team
- Aug 17
- 3 min read
AI, Interest Rates, and How Spread Trades Work
Artificial intelligence continues to fuel optimism on Wall Street, but rising oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty, and higher Treasury yields are keeping investors cautious.
In Episode 27 of the Building Wealth Podcast, Steven Sitkowski breaks down the competing forces influencing today's stock market and explains why the underlying market trend remains bullish despite continued volatility.
Steven examines the 10-Year Treasury yield, oil prices, consumer sentiment, inflation, and expectations for future Federal Reserve interest rate decisions. While consumers are showing signs of concern, small business optimism and hiring plans remain encouraging.
Technology and artificial intelligence also remain major themes. Tech continues to benefit from strong earnings and AI investment, while data-center growth is helping support industrial companies. Steven also discusses Nvidia's enormous influence on the S&P 500 and why current technology valuations may not be as extreme as some investors assume.
How Do Spread Trades Work?
The educational focus of Episode 27 is options spread trading.
Steven walks through his process for finding potential call spread opportunities from scratch.
He explains how he looks for stocks with strong technical support, selects expiration dates, evaluates strike prices, and uses option delta to estimate the probability of a trade finishing in the money.
Using Nvidia and AMD as examples, Steven demonstrates how he evaluates potential spread trades and calculates maximum profit, risk, and potential return. As always, the examples are presented for educational purposes rather than as personalized investment advice.
Key Takeaways from Episode 27
AI remains one of the strongest forces supporting the stock market.
Higher oil prices and Treasury yields remain important risks for investors.
Market breadth continues to indicate an underlying bullish environment.
Technology earnings continue to benefit from AI-related spending.
Consumer sentiment is weakening even as small businesses become more optimistic.
Inflation data has reduced expectations for multiple interest rate increases.
Support levels and option delta can help evaluate potential spread trades.
Steven demonstrates potential Nvidia and AMD call spread setups.
Episode 27 of the Building Wealth Podcast with Steven Sitkowski combines a timely stock market outlook with a practical options trading lesson for investors who want to better understand how market conditions, technical analysis, and options strategies can work together.
FAQs
What is an options spread trade?
An options spread trade involves simultaneously buying and selling options on the same underlying stock. In Episode 27, Steven Sitkowski demonstrates how he evaluates call spreads by examining support levels, strike prices, expiration dates, potential returns, and probability.
What does delta mean when trading options?
Delta is an options metric that can be used, among other purposes, as an approximate gauge of the probability that an option will expire in the money. Steven uses delta as part of his process for evaluating potential spread trades.
Why does Steven Sitkowski look for support levels when trading call spreads?
Steven looks for strong technical support because it helps identify a price level where a stock has previously attracted buyers. For the bullish spreads demonstrated in Episode 27, he looks for support relatively close to the current stock price.
Why is the 10-Year Treasury yield important for the stock market?
The 10-Year Treasury yield affects borrowing costs and stock valuations. In Episode 27, Steven discusses why rising Treasury yields could create additional pressure on stocks and why investors should continue monitoring them closely.
Why are AI and technology stocks still important to the market?
Strong earnings and continued investment in artificial intelligence, data centers, semiconductors, and related infrastructure have helped technology remain one of the market's leading sectors. Steven also highlights Nvidia's significant contribution to S&P 500 performance.
What is the Building Wealth Podcast with Steven Sitkowski about?
The Building Wealth Podcast with Steven Sitkowski helps investors better understand the stock market, investing, wealth building, options trading, and economic trends. Drawing on decades of experience in the financial industry, Steven Sitkowski shares practical market insights, investment education, and strategies designed to help individuals become more informed investors.
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