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Life Is Just One Big Dataset
This week we look at a choppy SPY chart, Berkshire’s big GOOGL bet, and why the small signals in life matter most.
Jeff Sanchez
November 18, 2025 • Est. Reading Time: 8 minutes
Welcome back to Hitting the Bid Weekly!
On deck this week…
Market momentum pulls back, uncertainty returns
Big releases this week: NFP data and NVDA earnings
Berkshire’s big bet on Alphabet
Collecting all the data around us
Around the Market
Tech softness and government re-opening noise weigh on equities.
Volatility has perked up as we roll into the last month and a half of 2025, and it helped the Down voters get a win with the S&P 500 (via SPY) dipping 2.3% on the week to $665.67. Buyers tried to push the index back toward the October 29 all time high as the federal government shutdown was trending toward an end. But traders seemed to buy the rumor and sell the news in a pretty aggressive way, pushing the index down about eighteen dollars from midweek highs.
Equity weakness was broad, but the sharpest selling came from the tech sector, especially semiconductors. I am not entirely sure what is driving the volatility, but my best guess is that traders are positioning ahead of the Non Farm Payrolls report on Thursday. Data has been delayed because of the shutdown, and this payroll report is already backward looking since it takes time to collect inputs. September data comes this week, December will include data for November, and we likely won’t get any October data since it was not collected during the shutdown.
Markets tend to be forward looking, and with the labor market already on a softening path, maybe traders bought protection ahead of perceived volatility and uncertainty around whether the numbers could miss expectations. Of course there is also the chance that the actuals fall right in line. If everything comes in as expected, do equities push back higher?
Where do you think the S&P 500 will be next week? |
Daily chart of SPY over 1Y time interval
Other key market moves this past week:
Closing Price (Monday) | Week/Week Change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
$22.38 | $4.78 | 27.2% | |
$4,074 | -$47.50 | -1.2% | |
$116.72 | -$0.28 | -0.2% | |
$99.59 | unch | unch | |
$59.86 | -$0.27 | -0.4% | |
$92,100 | -$13,500 | -12.8% |
The Week Ahead
Economic Calendar
Notable Earnings
Not an exhaustive list — just a few I’m watching closely for potential market impact.
On My Radar
A new high, a sharp reversal, and what the chart may signal next.
One of the big headlines of the week was news that Berkshire made a massive bet on Alphabet (GOOGL), purchasing 17.85 million shares worth almost five billion dollars. After making a one year low near $140 in April, the stock has a little more than doubled and hit a fresh all time high of $293.95 the day after the news broke.
Daily chart of GOOGL over 1Y time interval
While price did make a new high, digging into the intraday action tells a more interesting story. The stock closed near $278 on Friday. After traders digested the Berkshire news, they pushed the price to almost $296 before the market opened this week. When the opening bell rang, price gap opened at $285.80, moved up to $293.95 before 10 a.m. ET (unable to break the pre market high), then sold off for the rest of the day, creating a long upper wick in the process.
With all of that downward pressure, I am watching to see if traders push price back toward the gap from Friday’s high at $278.56, and whether that area acts as support. I do not see a clean trade setup until price approaches that zone or retests the all time high, so I set alerts at $280 and $293. I will revisit the chart once one of those triggers.
What’s Top of Mind
Why paying attention to small signals creates an edge.
It has only been two months, and I feel like we are learning something new about our son and about parenting every day. Each time we run into a new moment or unexpected reaction, I like to joke that we are just collecting data points. None of it comes from big milestones. It is more about dozens of small interactions where past patterns either get reinforced or suddenly stop working. How I hold him when I get a solid burp. Which side of the crib helps him settle more easily. What tweaks we make in the bath routine so he stops hating it (I think we finally figured this one out…mostly). Each moment is really just another entry in a much larger dataset.
If you pause and think about it, you realize life is always handing you data. In parenting. In markets. In your habits. In relationships. The world is constantly giving you clues about what works and what does not, where you thrive and where you struggle, and what deserves more of your energy.
The problem is that we often don’t notice the signals. We move too quickly or assume small fluctuations do not matter. But the small stuff is where people can really develop an edge. A trader who only watches the headline move misses the subtle change in volatility that has been building underneath. Someone who wants to grow but never tracks their energy, habits, or emotions never sees the patterns shaping their days.
Doing a better job of collecting data points starts with observation and intention. Slow down enough to notice what repeats. Write things down instead of trusting your memory. Pay attention to what changes when you alter a variable like timing, sequence, or environment. Ask yourself what felt effortless and what felt draining. Over time, these micro observations turn into meaningful insight.
As a personal example, I used to work out after the work day ended. Physical well being is something I really value, and I eventually noticed that I would sometimes be distracted when work would pile up and possibly push my workout later. One day I shifted my workout to the first thing in the morning. Right away I noticed two things. I felt more energized for the rest of the day, especially through the morning. And I was more focused during work because I had already checked off the most important thing for my own well being. I’ve been doing it this way since.
Collecting data points brings intention to moments that would otherwise blend together. It turns what looks like noise into something that can guide you. Life rewards people who pay attention. It all starts with gathering the signals that are already around you.
Thanks for reading this week!
If something sparked your interest — or you’ve got a hot take of your own — hit reply or find me at [email protected]. I read every email.
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Hitting the Bid content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The information contained is not, nor is it intended to be, trading or investment advice or a recommendation of any security, futures contract, digital asset or alike. I may hold a position in the trading vehicles discussed. Trading and investing contains risk. All investors should evaluate their own risk tolerance, financial situation, and investment duration before entering any trade or investment.