Day Traders Diary

12/18/19

The major averages slipped on Wednesday, reversing gains late in trading after Wall Street fell short of extending its winning streak to six days. Gains were kept in check while investors digested weak earnings from shipping giant FedEx.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded slightly lower, falling 0.04% and 0.1%, respectively. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit intraday all-time highs, with the latter index the only one of the three ending higher, up just 0.05%. The Nasdaq closed up 4 points.

Weakness in FedEx contributed to the declines in the S&P 500 industrials sector down 0.5% and Dow Jones Transportation Average down 0.9%.

Conversely, the real estate sector rose 1.3% while the utilities, energy and communication services sectors closed modestly higher.  

On the earnings front, Lennox International fell 5% after lowering guidance, while Cintas rose 2% and Steelcase rose 16% on positive results.  

Separately, Cigna rose 2.4% after agreeing to sell its group life and disability insurance business to New York Life for $6.3 billion in cash.

In the U.S. Treasury market, a decline in longer-dated bonds caused some curve-steepening activity. The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 1.62%, while the 10-yr yield increased four basis points to 1.92%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 97.39. WTI crude increased 0.1% (+$0.03) to $60.93/bbl.