Day Traders Diary

2/19/20

The major averages rebounded today with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite making new record highs thanks to tech shares outperforming once again following Apple's preannouncement on Tuesday due to the coronavirus' impact on the global economy.

The broad index closed 0.5% higher at 3,386, breaking above a previous all-time high of 3,385.09, while the Nasdaq climbed nearly 0.9% to 9,817.18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115 points, or 0.4% to close at 29,348.

Apple provided influential leadership for the market while momentum stock like Tesla and Virgin Galactic stayed hot. Apple's advance today was a testament to the market's view that the coronavirus is a transitory event. Shares recouped most of yesterday's losses following the company's quarterly revenue warning due to the virus. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.6%, thanks to strength in NVIDIA up 6% on an upgrade and Analog Devices up 4.5% on earnings.

China's National Health Commission on Wednesday reported an additional 1,749 cases of the coronavirus nationwide. That's the lowest number of newly confirmed cases since late January.

Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that China is considering the use of cash infusions and mergers to bail out its airline industry, which has been hit by the coronavirus.

Still, the total number of cases has broken above 74,000 while confirmed deaths from the coronavirus are more than 2,000. Cases of the deadly flu-like virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, have also been reported in more than two dozen countries around the world. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

U.S. Treasuries traded within a narrow range and closed slightly lower. The 2-yr yield increased two basis points to 1.42%, and the 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 1.57%. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced 0.2% to 99.59.