Day Traders Diary

12/11/19

The major averages closed higher once again after the Federal Reserve indicated it will likely not raise rates in 2020, removing the fear among investors that it would repeat a mistake it made last year by tightening monetary.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 29 points, or 0.1% to close at 27,911. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to 3,141 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to 8,654.

The Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, following three decreases in a row. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a news conference the central bank would have to see a persistent rise in inflation before hiking rates once again. Treasury yields fell broadly. The benchmark 10-year rate slid to 1.781% while the 2-year yield fell to 1.611%.

In corporate news, Home Depot fell 1.8% on light 2020 guidance. Chevron was down 1.4% after writing down $11 billion in gas assets for the quarter. Boeing fell as much as 2% before recovering as the FAA stated they will not let the 737 Max fly until next year.

Tomorrow we will get the ECB policy decision and UK election along with a possible new round of tariffs on Chinese imports coming this Sunday. The trade uncertainty presumably had more influence on sentiment than interest rates at this point.