Day Traders Diary

6/25/20

The major averages are lower once again due to disappointing unemployment data while traders grappled with a rising number of coronavirus cases.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to drop over 200 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are modestly lower.

An additional 1.48 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 1.35 million. This marks the second straight week that U.S. jobless claims data were worse than expected.

More than 45,000 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Wednesday, a record that surpassed the previous April 26 peak by over 9,000 cases, according to an NBC News tally. States such as Texas, Florida, California and Arizona have all seen major spikes. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut also ordered visitors from certain hotspot states to quarantine for 14 days.

This resurgence led Apple to re-close some stores in Houston, where intensive-care unit beds are near capacity. It also prompted Disney to delay the reopening of its California-based parks beyond July 17.

Shares of companies that would benefit from the economy reopening were under pressure in early trading. Airlines such as American, Delta and United all fell more than 4%. Norwegian Cruise Line slid 8.5%.

The negative headlines sent the market into a downward spiral on Wednesday. The Dow dropped about 700 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 2.5% and 2.1%, respectively. All three benchmarks posted their worst day since June 11. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also snapped an eight-day winning streak.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasuries have seen an uptick in demand, driving those yields slightly lower. The 2-yr yield is flat at 0.18%, and the 10-yr yield is down three basis points to 0.66%. The U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.4% to 97.53. WTI crude is down 1.9%, or $0.74, to $37.28/bbl.