How to trade around the market volatility

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 20, 2026 at 18:24  |  9:38  |  CNBC
Speakers
Joe Terranova — Senior Managing Director, Virtus Investment Partners
Liz Young Thomas — Head of Investment Strategy, SoFi
Josh Brown — CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management
Joe Kernen — Co-Anchor, Squawk Box
Brian Belski — Chief Investment Strategist, BMO Capital Markets
Scott Wapner — Host, CNBC
Sergio Ermotti — Group CEO, UBS

Summary

CNBC's Investment Committee debates how to trade a sharp market selloff, with the S&P 500 near its 50-day moving average and the Nasdaq leading losses as Treasury yields rise. The panel weighs whether volatility is a buying opportunity or a reason to stay selective, with Joe Kernen arguing selloffs like Liberation Day are often the best buying opportunities. Liz Thomas favors software and cyclicals while avoiding broad tech, Joe Terranova sees tactical opportunities in housing, healthcare, energy, and SBI Biotech, and Josh Brown recommends gold, energy stocks, and oil as offsets.

  • Stocks fell with Nasdaq leading losses and S&P 500 testing its 50-day moving average.
  • Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year at 4.31%, the highest since early September.
  • Gold and silver hit record highs while VIX traded around 20.
  • Panel debated whether to buy the volatility or remain selective.
  • Liz Thomas likes software for AI adoption and sees cyclicals leading, but avoids broad tech.
  • Joe Terranova favors tactical exposure to housing, healthcare, energy, and SBI Biotech.
  • Josh Brown recommends gold, energy stocks, and oil as portfolio offsets.
  • Joe Kernen says market selloffs are often noise and buying opportunities.
Ideas
Joe Terranova Senior Managing Director, Virtus Investment Partners 0:55
Housing opportunity survives despite yield pressure.
Rising Treasury yields are the main problem for the housing trade because they pressure housing affordability and sentiment, but the housing trade showed a revival and the opportunity still exists if yields stabilize.
HOUSING MED
Joe Terranova Senior Managing Director, Virtus Investment Partners 1:20
Tactical Q4 themes still offer opportunities.
He expects higher volatility in 2026 and advises being tactical on down days, pointing to small caps, healthcare, and energy as Q4 themes that are still working and offering opportunities.
XLE IWM XLV MED
Joe Terranova Senior Managing Director, Virtus Investment Partners 1:34
SBI Biotech working; he owns it.
He is invested in SBI Biotech and it is working, part of the Q4 healthcare/biotech themes that remain intact.
XBI LOW
Joe Kernen Co-Anchor, Squawk Box 2:39
Buy US stocks on volatility.
Market selloffs like Liberation Day are often noise and prove to be the best buying opportunities of the year, implying investors should buy broad US equities during volatility.
SPY MED
Liz Young Thomas Head of Investment Strategy, SoFi 3:56
Tech is lagging; avoid broad tech.
Tech is the odd one out in the broadening market trade, with tech broadly not participating and a lot of pain inside the sector, so broad technology remains unattractive even as she sees a software-specific opportunity.
XLK MED
Liz Young Thomas Head of Investment Strategy, SoFi 4:08
Buy software for 2026 AI adoption.
Software has been hit hard in the tech selloff and is a decent opportunity because software must be part of AI adoption over the rest of 2026; it could fall further, but the risk/reward is attractive.
IGV HIGH
Liz Young Thomas Head of Investment Strategy, SoFi 4:31
Cyclicals still lead; don't ignore.
Cyclicals remain in leadership with investor appetite for industrials, materials, and energy, a stabilizing market signal that should not be ignored while volatility persists.
XLI XLB XLE MED
Josh Brown CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management 7:09
Gold acts well as portfolio offset.
Gold is great and acts really well as a portfolio offset to software weakness, even in an environment that he views as normal volatility.
GLD HIGH
Josh Brown CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management 7:12
Oil and energy stocks offset software.
Energy stocks are up and he has been recommending them for weeks; oil could be this year's gold, providing an offset to software-stock weakness.
XLE WTI HIGH
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This CNBC video, published January 20, 2026, features Joe Terranova, Joe Kernen, Liz Young Thomas, Josh Brown discussing HOUSING, XLE, IWM, XLV, XBI, SPY, XLK, IGV, XLI, XLB, GLD, WTI. 9 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Joe Terranova, Joe Kernen, Liz Young Thomas, Josh Brown  · Tickers: HOUSING, XLE, IWM, XLV, XBI, SPY, XLK, IGV, XLI, XLB, GLD, WTI