Day Traders Diary

9/24/19

The major averages were whipsawed closing lower on potential impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 142 points or 0.5% at 26,807 after falling more than 200 points at one point. The S&P 500 dropped 0.8%, its biggest one-day drop since Aug. 23, to 2,966. The Nasdaq Composite also had its worst day in a month, dropping 1.5% to 7,993.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will announce a formal impeachment inquiry later on Tuesday after she meets with her caucus to discuss the call Trump had earlier this year with Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, where he allegedly pressured him to investigate Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden's family.

The energy sector fell 1.6% as oil prices fell 2.3%. The communication services sector dropped 1.3% and the trade-sensitive Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.7% after a strong start.

Notable laggards included FAANG components Facebook down 3% and Amazon down 2.5%. Netflix fell 4% on a downgrade.

U.S. Treasuries resumed their recent advance amid the political uncertainty and concerns about trade and growth. The 2-yr yield declined six basis points to 1.61%, and the 10-yr yield declined seven basis points to 1.64%. Interestingly, the 10-yr yield is now down 27 basis points from its high on Sept. 13. The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.3% to 98.32.