Day Traders Diary

12/4/19

The major averages rebounded after two down days, boosted by news the U.S. and China were edging closer to a trade deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 146 points or 05%. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.54%.

The Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar with the talks, said the two countries were moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a so-called phase-one trade deal. President Donald Trump also said Wednesday that trade talks with China were going well.

The Dow dropped 280 points on Tuesday and at one point was down as much as 457 points after Trump said it may be better to wait until after the election before making a deal with China. It was the third day of losses for stocks as traders worried a deal would not be hatched before the U.S. is due to impose fresh duties on Chinese goods on Dec. 15.

On the earnings front, Campbell Soup rose 1.9% hit a 52-week high after it beat earnings expectations. Salesforce fell 3.2% and Workday fell 4.7%, both beat top and bottom-line estimates and provided decent guidance but shares still finished noticeably lower.

Alphabet rose 2% as CEO Larry Page and President Sergey Brin stepped down from management and ceded CEO duties to Sundar Pichai in addition to his current CEO role at Google. Expedia rose 6.2% CEO Mark Okerstrom and CFO Alan Pickerill resigned at the board's request.

U.S. Treasuries retreated after a big advance yesterday, driving yields higher in a curve-steepening trade. The 2-yr yield increased four basis points to 1.58%, and the 10-yr yield increased seven basis points to 1.78%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.1% to 97.60.