Day Traders Diary

12/17/19

The major averages closed modestly higher with the S&P 500 making a fresh an all-time high on Tuesday and posting its longest winning streak since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite ended the day with record closing highs. The Dow climbed 31 points to 28,267 while the Nasdaq also advanced 0.1% to 8,823.

Netflix jumped more than 3% after the streaming giant disclosed strong membership growth numbers in key regions, including Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Johnson & Johnson climbed 1.3% after a Morgan Stanley analyst upgraded the stock, noting many of the company's structural issues "have been addressed." Shares of Apple closed 0.2% higher and hit a fresh record high.

Tuesday's move added to the solid upside moves from Monday. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% in the previous session while the Dow advanced more than 100 points. The Nasdaq closed 0.9% on Monday.

Six of the 11 sectors did finish lower, though, with the weakest performer being the real estate sector.

Shares of Boeing were volatile after the company confirmed it will suspend 737 MAX production starting in January. Separately, Johnson & Johnson rose a percent on an upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley while Eli Lilly rose 2% provided upside FY20 guidance.

On the earnings front, Jabil rose 6% topped expectations and raised its FY20 guidance, while Navistar fell 10.5% missed revenue estimates.

U.S. Treasuries finished little changed. Both the 2-yr yield and 10-yr yield remained unchanged at 1.63% and 1.89%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 97.22. WTI crude rose 1.2%, or $0.69, to $60.90/bbl.