Day Traders Diary

9/17/19

The major averages finished in the green ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 33 points to 27,110. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to close at 3,005. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to end the day at 8,186.

The central bank is expected to announce its latest decision on monetary policy. The Fed is largely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points. That would be the central bank's second rate cut of 2019.

Crude oil pulled back today after skyrocketing more than 14% yesterday, its biggest one-day gain since December 2008. Following the drone attacks in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, the country has already restored 2 million bpd of output and expects normal capacity will be back online by the end of September.

Bank stocks fell broadly. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) dropped 1.1% as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America all slid at least 0.5%. Regional banks also pulled back. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) slipped 1.3%.

Ironically, real-estate stocks were the best performers as Treasury yields dipped. The sector rose 1.4% while the benchmark 10-year yield fell to around 1.8%.