Day Traders Diary

12/23/19

Stocks climbed higher on Monday, hitting new records, as the year-end rally continues. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 96 points to 28,551 while the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, or 2.79 points while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2%, or 20 points, to 8,945. The three major averages all posted record closes. Shares of Boeing led the gains, jumping 2.9% after the company ousted CEO Dennis Muilenburg amid the 737 Max crisis.

Investors cheered the news that China will cut import tariffs on a wide range of goods. China's finance ministry announced starting January 1, it will lower import tariffs on over 850 products ranging from frozen pork to some types of semiconductors. China is making efforts to boost imports amid a slowing economy and a trade war with the U.S.

Wall Street posted fresh record highs on Friday as stocks continued to rally on the back of an easing of geopolitical risks. The S&P 500 was up more than 1.5% last week and posted its fourth consecutive weekly gain. The benchmark has risen for the eighth time in the past nine sessions and rallied 28.6% for 2019 through Monday's close.

Trading volumes were subdued ahead of Christmas. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) traded about 41 million shares, well below its 30-day volume average of 60 million shares.

In M&A activity, Cincinnati Bell jumped 35% after agreeing to be acquired by Brookfield Infrastructure for $2.6 billion in cash. Sports betting company DraftKings will become a public company through its combination agreement with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. Diamond Eagle jumped 6%.

U.S. Treasuries finished on a lower note, pushing yields higher across the curve. The 2-yr yield increased two basis points to 1.65%, and the 10-yr yield increased two basis points to 1.94%. The U.S. Dollar Index finished flat at 97.67. WTI crude increased 0.3%, or $0.15, to $60.53/bbl.