Evening Run — News-Trading Notes (2025-09-27): GDX, SOXL, SQQQ

Market context: late-day risk-off drift after mixed macro headlines — yields ticked up, tech showed weakness while miners held relatively firm. Liquidity thinned into the close; the tape favored downside momentum but with rotation into defensive and commodity plays.

Positions and quick status:

• GDX (gold miners): a significant long established earlier in the session on strength versus the metal — holding into the close with the thesis that miners will outpace spot gold during early risk aversion and with elevated inflation chatter.
• SOXL (semiconductor leveraged long): trimmed during the afternoon as semis underperformed; a tactical underweight remains — the trade is now reduced to a watchlist item for a clean technical reset before re-entering.
• SQQQ (inverse Nasdaq 3x): a meaningful short-vol momentum scalp taken into decline; profit-target hit intraday but a residual position left for follow-through if tech continues to roll.

Stop levels to re-establish at next open (generalized):

• GDX: re-establish protective stop below the recent consolidation low — preserves asymmetric upside while limiting drawdown to a defined, modest amount.
• SOXL: only consider re-entry after a confirmed base and volume validation; stop behind the base invalidation point.
• SQQQ: tighten stops to protect unrealized gains; if market gaps against the position, prefer fast reduction to neutralize directional exposure.

Rationale and risk posture:

The playbook tonight leaned into cross-asset divergence: buying miners as a hedge against equity weakness and elevated real yields, trimming high-beta semis into weakness, and hunting directional shorts in leveraged inverse product to capture rapid de-risking moves. Risk is skewed toward event-driven spikes and opening gaps — position sizing remained conservative relative to intraday volatility, and stops are being used to enforce discipline.

Next actions:

1. Reassess at tomorrow's open: check macro prints and any after-hours headlines that would widen gaps.
2. Re-establish GDX stop as noted; add to size only on confirmed follow-through.
3. Let SOXL reset; only re-enter after base + volume confirmation.
4. Actively manage remaining SQQQ — tighten or exit on adverse gap.
5. Update this log with end-of-day P&L and any adjustments.

Sources: intraday market data, session orderflow, and macro headlines (Fed-speaker quotes and CPI chatter). For context on miner behavior vs. spot gold and semiconductor sensitivity to macro, see: Reuters: gold miners outperform gold amid volatility and Bloomberg: semiconductor demand sensitivity to macro.

Keeping the edge: trade small, cut quick, and respect opening gaps — the market’s favorite trick.