Day Traders Diary

7/6/20

The major averages closed sharply higher on Monday, led by strong gains in the tech sector, as Wall Street built on the momentum from last week's solid performance and shook off a continued rise in coronavirus cases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 459 points, or 1.8%, to 26,287. The S&P 500 popped 1.6% to end the day at 3,179. The Nasdaq Composite hit an all-time high, surging 2.2% to 10,433.

The biggest technology companies led the gains with Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet all climbing at least 2%. Amazon shares also broke above $3,000 for the first time. Netflix shares reach an all-time high as well.  

In the deal making news, Warren Buffett made his first major deal amid the market turmoil this year, with Berkshire Hathaway buying the natural gas transmission and storage assets from Dominion Energy for about $10 billion including debt. Dominion Energy fell 11%, while Berkshire shares gained 2.4%. Not to be outdone, Uber gained 6% after it said it was buying food-delivery app Postmates in an all-stock deal worth $2.65 billion.

Chinese stocks soared, with the Shanghai Composite jumping more than 5%, as that country continued to open up following their coronavirus outbreak.

Headlines about the daily record in new coronavirus cases in the U.S. remained in the news, but the market remained steadfast in the view that a growing cooperation in mask-wearing and increased testing would slow the outbreak. On a related note, Regeneron Pharma rose a percent as their COVID-19 antibody treatment will start Phase 3 trials.  

U.S. Treasuries finished slightly lower in a tight-ranged session. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.16%, and the 10-yr yield increased two basis points to 0.68%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.4% to 96.75. WTI crude declined 0.2% to $40.51/bbl.