Insights 
VT 
Donald Trump is scheduled to appear on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Tuesday at 8 a.m. US time. The programme offers a focus on pre-market financial news and market analysis.
Squawk Box airs live on weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. ET. It targets individuals preparing for the U.S. trading day, featuring interviews with CEOs, policymakers, and other influential figures.
Market Insights Before Opening
The show is a morning staple for those looking to gain insights before the markets open. It serves as a key information source for the financial community via mainstream media.
With an appearance on CNBC set for this morning, we are expecting a very bullish tone. This will likely inject a short-term surge of optimism into pre-market futures. The immediate reaction could be a pop in indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
This kind of event often increases expected turbulence, regardless of the direction. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, has been hovering near a relatively calm 15, a significant drop from the spikes we saw in late 2024. We should consider buying call options on the VIX, betting that this interview will stir the pot and wake the market from its summer lull.
We should anticipate specific sectors like domestic energy and manufacturing to be highlighted. Given that WTI crude oil has stabilized around $82 per barrel, call options on energy ETFs like XLE could be a smart play for the next few weeks. His commentary could easily provide a catalyst for that sector to break out of its recent range.
Managing Market Reactions
Looking back at the 2017-2021 period, we learned that such pronouncements can create sharp, but sometimes temporary, rallies. A single interview could drive sentiment for days, but the market eventually returns its focus to hard data. Therefore, any long positions taken today should be managed actively.
This presents a classic opportunity to buy the rumor, but we must be ready to sell the news. If the market gets a significant sugar rush from this interview, it may become overbought. Buying some protective, out-of-the-money puts on the SPY for late August or September expiration could be a cheap way to hedge against a reversal.
His remarks will almost certainly touch on economic policy and criticize the Federal Reserve. This is especially relevant after the latest Consumer Price Index report from July showed core inflation still stubbornly high at 3.1%. This tension between political rhetoric and economic reality is what will likely fuel volatility in the weeks ahead.
