Day Traders Diary

5/3/19

Stocks finished higher rebounding from two-day losses, as data showed U.S. job creation was stronger than expected in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 197.16 points to 26,504.95, while the S&P 500 rose nearly 1% to 2,945.64, posting its biggest gain since April 1. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.6% higher to hit a record high of 8,164. The U.S. added a robust 263,000 new jobs in April while the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, the lowest since December 1969, according to a Labor Department report Friday. In a broad market rally, shares of Amazon head the charge, rising 3% after it was disclosed Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was a buyer in the last quarter.

Strong earnings this season have been supporting the markets. More than half of the S&P 500 has reported first-quarter earnings and the results have largely topped expectations. According to FactSet, 75% of the S&P 500 companies have beaten earnings estimates.

Despite Friday's gains, the Dow still posted a small weekly loss of 0.1% as the Fed Chairman's comments triggered a two-day sell-off earlier in the week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished the week slightly higher.

Year to date returns:

•Nasdaq Composite +23.0% YTD

•Russell 2000 +19.7% YTD

•S&P 500 +17.5% YTD

•Dow Jones Industrial Average +13.6% YTD