REDBOY NEWS Take a paws and read the mews

REDBOY NEWS

Closing Bell — Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Take a paws and read the mews. 🐾

MARKET SUMMARY

Wall Street finished lower Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage point to a target range of 3.75%–4.00%. The Fed also left the door open to additional tightening as it continues to focus on inflation.

S&P 500: 7,551.81 — down 0.4%
Dow Jones: 51,461.90 — down 1.2%
Nasdaq Composite: 25,978.42 — down less than 0.1%

For 2026 so far, the S&P 500 remains up approximately 10.3%, while the Nasdaq is up about 11.8%.

REDBOY'S MARKET TAKE

Today's Fed decision matters more than today's relatively modest S&P decline. Higher interest rates put additional pressure on expensive growth stocks, gold and cryptocurrencies. For now, Redboy News favors companies with strong earnings, cash flow and balance sheets rather than chasing speculative momentum.

S&P 500 TOP 5

1. Alphabet — GOOGL

RATING: BUY

Alphabet remains our #1 selection. Google Cloud and AI remain major growth drivers, while Alphabet's enormous cash generation and balance sheet provide protection in a higher-rate environment.

Previous rank: #1 — NO CHANGE

2. Broadcom — AVGO

RATING: BUY

Broadcom remains one of our strongest AI infrastructure selections. Recent weakness has improved the valuation while the company's AI semiconductor business continues to provide a powerful long-term growth catalyst.

Previous rank: #2 — NO CHANGE

3. Qualcomm — QCOM

RATING: BUY

Qualcomm's push into AI data-center chips provides an important opportunity to diversify beyond smartphones. The AWS relationship remains a major catalyst, although execution risk is higher than with Broadcom.

Previous rank: #3 — NO CHANGE

4. Microsoft — MSFT

RATING: BUY

Azure, enterprise software and AI continue to make Microsoft one of the highest-quality companies in the market. MSFT closed Wednesday at about $490.30, down 1.37%.

Previous rank: #4 — NO CHANGE

5. Meta Platforms — META

RATING: BUY

Meta's advertising engine continues producing substantial cash flow, while AI and smart glasses provide additional growth opportunities. Heavy AI capital spending remains the principal risk.

Previous rank: #5 — NO CHANGE

S&P WATCH LIST

Amazon — AMZN: HOLD

No S&P 500 stock receives a REDUCE or SELL rating tonight.

GOLD & SILVER TOP 5

Precious metals were hit by the Fed's rate increase. Spot gold fell more than 1% to approximately $4,240 an ounce, while silver declined about 1.7% following the decision.

1. Wheaton Precious Metals — WPM

RATING: BUY

Wheaton remains Redboy's preferred precious-metals company. Its streaming business provides exposure to higher gold and silver prices without assuming as much direct mine-operating-cost risk as conventional miners.

Previous rank: #1 — NO CHANGE

2. Agnico Eagle Mines — AEM

RATING: BUY

Agnico remains our preferred traditional gold miner because of its combination of quality assets, relatively favorable jurisdictions, reserves and financial strength.

Previous rank: #2 — NO CHANGE

3. Franco-Nevada — FNV

RATING: BUY

Franco-Nevada's royalty model provides attractive precious-metals exposure while limiting direct exposure to fuel, labor and mine-cost inflation.

Previous rank: #3 — NO CHANGE

4. Newmont — NEM

RATING: HOLD

Newmont provides considerable upside leverage if gold resumes climbing, but its large operating footprint also creates greater cost exposure. We want to see gold stabilize before moving NEM back to BUY.

Previous rank: #4 — NO CHANGE

5. Kinross Gold — KGC

RATING: REDUCE ⚠️

Kinross remains our weakest risk-adjusted selection because higher mining costs combined with declining gold prices can compress margins quickly.

Previous rank: #5 — NO CHANGE

⚠️ REDBOY ALERT

KGC remains REDUCE.

There are no new SELL ratings in the metals portfolio tonight.

CRYPTO TOP 5

Cryptocurrency markets came under pressure from two major developments: the Fed's rate increase and the Senate setback for the CLARITY Act. Bitcoin fell below $76,000, but declined less than several major altcoins.

1. Bitcoin — BTC

RATING: BUY / ACCUMULATE

Bitcoin remains Redboy's #1 cryptocurrency because of its liquidity, institutional adoption and relative resilience during today's crypto selloff.

2. Ethereum — ETH

RATING: BUY

Ethereum remains the leading smart-contract ecosystem in our ranking. Higher rates are a near-term headwind, but institutional interest remains important.

3. XRP — XRP

RATING: HOLD / SPECULATIVE BUY

XRP remains on permanent Redboy tracking.

The failure of the Senate's CLARITY Act vote removes an anticipated near-term regulatory catalyst and increases uncertainty. That warrants caution, but it does not by itself destroy XRP's longer-term investment thesis.

4. Solana — SOL

RATING: HOLD / SPECULATIVE BUY

Solana remains attractive because of network activity and institutional interest, but its higher volatility makes it more vulnerable when interest rates rise and investors reduce risk.

RATING: HOLD

Chainlink remains an important blockchain-infrastructure project, but current macro conditions favor the larger and more liquid cryptocurrencies.

BTC and XRP will continue to be tracked in every Redboy News crypto report regardless of their future Top-5 ranking.

WHAT CHANGED TODAY

S&P 500: No Top-5 additions or removals.

Gold/Silver: No ranking changes. KGC remains REDUCE.

Crypto: Regulatory uncertainty increased substantially after the Senate setback for the CLARITY Act.

Federal Reserve: Rates increased ¼ point to 3.75%–4.00%. This is tonight's most important market development.

REDBOY NEWS TAKE

The Fed just reminded investors that inflation has not disappeared.

That doesn't mean abandoning stocks, metals or cryptocurrency. It means being more selective.

For equities, we favor companies with strong earnings and cash flow. For precious metals, we prefer streaming and royalty companies with lower direct operating-cost exposure. In crypto, Bitcoin's relative resilience keeps it at the top of our list while the CLARITY Act setback makes the more speculative cryptocurrencies higher risk.

Patience and quality remain the watchwords.

🐾 Take a paws and read the mews.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE

Redboy News is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. Ratings such as BUY, HOLD, REDUCE and SELL represent general market research and are not individualized investment advice. Investing in stocks, precious metals and cryptocurrencies involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Redboy News — Market Research With a Mission

All profits after expenses support Animalhouses Pet Rescue Inc., a Florida 501(c)(3) animal-rescue organization.