Day Traders Diary

9/29/16

The stock market ended the Thursday affair on a lower note as concerns regarding Deutsche Bank's (DB 11.48, -0.82) capital position weighed on the major averages. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.1%) finished slightly behind the Nasdaq Composite (-0.9%) and the S&P 500 (-0.9%).

Equity indices began the day on a quiet note, looking to consolidate after yesterday's oil-fueled risk rally. The benchmark index occupied a narrow nine-point trading range through the first half of trade as participants mulled over a recently-minted production cap agreement. OPEC surprised participants yesterday by announcing that it would limit production to between 32.5 million and 33.0 million barrels per day. However, specific terms of the agreement will not be released or put into effect until the oil collective meets on November 30.

The broader market broke lower near midday as reports indicated that approximately ten hedge funds have reduced their exposure to Deutsche Bank in recent days. The stock was down as much as 9.1%, ending lower by 6.7%. The German lender issued a statement in the afternoon, asserting that there had been recent outflows from its hedge fund business, but that Deutsche Bank's prime brokerage division remains profitable. Recall that capital concerns increased after the U.S. Department of Justice requested that the bank pay $14 billion to settle civil claims associated with the residential mortgage-backed securities crisis. The major averages notched session lows shortly after midday as heavily-weighted financials (-1.5%) and health care (-1.8%) led to the downside. The S&P 500 settled lower by 0.9%, testing technical support near the 2153/2151 price level. All eleven sectors finished in the red with utilities (-1.5%), financials (-1.5%), and health care (-1.8%) underperforming while energy (-0.1%) led to the upside.

The economically-sensitive financial sector (-1.5%) moved lower in sympathy with Deutsche Bank (DB 11.48, -0.82) as participants expressed concerns over the global banking landscape. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo (WFC 44.37, -0.94) declined 2.1% after CEO John Stumpf testified before the House Financial Services Committee. The congressional hearing was again heated as lawmakers questioned the sales tactics that led to the creation of more than two million fake deposit and credit-card accounts. The broader space extended its monthly loss to 4.2%, trailing the remaining sectors.

In the health care sector (-1.8%), biotechnology underperformed, evidenced by the 3.1% decline in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 285.87, -9.21). Mylan (MYL 38.47, -1.75) fell 4.4% after the CMS indicated that it had previously informed the company that it had misclassified its EpiPen device under the Medicaid Drug Rebate program. Recall that a group of U.S. lawmakers have recently pushed for the DoJ to investigate Mylan for this misclassification.

In the technology sector (-0.6%), the high-beta chipmakers outperformed, evidenced by the 1.3% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. NXP Semiconductor (NXPI 96.12, +13.88) rallied 16.9% after reports indicated that Qualcomm (QCOM 67.45, +4.00) could be looking to acquire the company. Conversely, Apple (AAPL 112.17, -1.78) underperformed after it was removed from Barclay's Top Pick list. The firm also lowered its 2016 smartphone revenue and unit growth estimates for Apple.

The commodity-sensitive energy sector (-0.1%) finished at the top of the board as crude oil extended its rally. WTI crude finished higher by 1.4% ($47.73/bbl; +$0.66), showing marked resilience to the downturn in the broader market.

Treasuries ended on a higher note with yields slipping through the curve. The yield on the 10-yr note finished lower by one basis point at 1.56%.

Today's participation was above the recent average as more than 971 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Today's economic data included the third estimate of second quarter GDP, weekly initial claims, International Trade in Goods for August, and Pending Home Sales for August:

The third estimate for second quarter GDP checked in at 1.4% (Briefing.com consensus 1.3%), up from the second estimate of 1.1%. The GDP Deflator was unchanged at 2.3%.

Initial claims for the week ending September 24 increased by 3,000 to 254,000 (Briefing.com consensus 259,000), marking the 82nd straight week they have been below 300,000.

Continuing claims for the week ending September 17 decreased by 46,000 to 2.062 million.

The Advance International Trade in Goods report for August showed a narrowing in the goods deficit to $58.4 billion from an upwardly revised $58.8 billion (from -$59.3 billion) in July.

Pending Home Sales for August fell by 2.4% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 1.0%. Separately, the July reading was revised to 1.2% from 1.3%.

Tomorrow's economic data will include Personal Income (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%), Personal Spending (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%), and Core PCE Prices (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%) for August, which will each be released at 8:30 ET. Separately, Chicago PMI (Briefing.com consensus 52.0) and the final reading of the University of Michigan Sentiment Index for September (Briefing.com consensus 90.0) will cross the wires at 9:45 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.

Russell 2000: +9.2% YTD

S&P 500: +5.2% YTD

Nasdaq: +5.2% YTD

Dow Jones: +4.1% YTD