Day Traders Diary

10/4/19

The major averages closed sharply higher as the latest U.S. jobs report hit the sweet spot with Wall Street traders. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 372 points, or 1.4% to close at 26,573. The S&P 500 advanced 1.4% to 2,952. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 1.4% to close at 7,982. For the week, however, the Dow and S&P 500 posted a third straight decline. The Nasdaq rose 0.5% for the week. 

The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 145,000 jobs. However, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, a 50-year low. Friday's jobs report was solid enough to dampen recession fears, but lackluster enough to keep the Federal Reserve on track to cut rates ny 25 basis-points later this month.

Tech was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, gaining 1.7% as Apple rose 2.8%. The tech giant's stock rose after Nikkei reported the company is increasing iPhone 11 production by 10%.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher. Eight sectors finished up at least 1.0%, including noticeable gains in the financials (+1.9%) and information technology (+1.7%) sectors.

To the downside, HP fell 9.6% after announcing it will reduce its global headcount by 7,000 to 9,000 employees as part of a restructuring plan. HP also authorized a $5 billion share repurchase program and raised its dividend by 10%.

U.S. Treasuries finished little changed despite the bullish bias in equities. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 1.39%, while the 10-yr yield declined basis points to 1.52%. The U.S. Dollar Index finished little changed at 99.80. WTI crude rose 0.6%, or $0.30, to $52.78/bbl.