Day Traders Diary

2/6/17

 Monday's session ended roughly where it began as investors opted to play it safe, leaving the major averages just below their all-time highs. The Dow (-0.1%) and the Nasdaq (-0.1%) closed just ahead of the S&P 500 (-0.2%), while the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.8%) underperformed.

An uptick in the Treasury market pointed to a risk-off sentiment among investors. The benchmark 10-yr yield closed five basis points lower at 2.41% as the Trump administration's timing of corporate tax reform and increased infrastructure spending, two factors that fueled the post-election rally, remains unclear.

On the earnings front, Tyson Foods (TSN 63.13, -2.26), Sysco (SYY 51.20, -1.34), Newell Brands (NWL 44.23, -2.66), and Hasbro (HAS 94.31, +11.68) all reported quarterly results before Monday's opening bell. Hasbro spiked 14.1%, while Tyson Foods, Sysco, and Newell Brands lost between 2.6% and 5.7%. However, the results had a limited impact on the broader market as the consumer discretionary (-0.3%) and consumer staples (-0.4%) sectors finished in line with the benchmark index.

The top-weighted information technology sector (+0.1%) closed ahead of its peers, underpinned by the strength of its largest component, Apple (AAPL 130.34, +1.26). Chipmakers also had a hand in limiting the bearish influence, pushing the PHLX Semiconductor Index higher by 0.4%. The industrial space (+0.1%) was the only other sector to finish in the green.

At the opposite end of the leaderboard was the energy space (-0.9%) amid a poor performance from crude oil. The energy component finished 1.5% lower at $53.01/bbl following Friday's Baker Hughes data, which showed U.S. oil rig additions in 13 of the past 14 weeks. Intraday dollar strength may have acted as an additional headwind for the commodity.

The U.S. Dollar Index (99.81, +0.12) finished Monday with a modest 0.1% gain after being up as much as 0.5%. Most of the greenback's gains came against the euro (1.0755) after far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen vowed to take her country out of the eurozone.

The remaining sectors--financials, materials, health care, utilities, telecom services, and real estate--finished the day with losses between 0.1% and 0.8%. 

Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday.

Tomorrow's economic data will include December Trade Balance (Briefing.com consensus -$45.0 billion) at 8:30 am ET, December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 10:00 am ET, and Consumer Credit (Briefing.com consensus $19.4 billion) at 3:00 pm ET.

Nasdaq Composite +5.2% YTD

S&P 500 +2.4% YTD

Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.5% YTD

Russell 2000 +0.7% YTD