Day Traders Diary

7/16/20

The major averages are set to open lower as the first down day for the Dow this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by 200 points. The S&P 500 dipped 0.8% while the Nasdaq declined by 1.5%.

Bank of America reported better-than-expected earnings for the previous quarter. However, the stock fell more than 2% as the company set aside $4 billion for coronavirus-related losses. Dow member Johnson & Johnson traded 0.8% lower despite posting better-than-expected results.

Morgan Stanley shares rose 0.9% after the company's quarterly earnings easily beat analyst expectations on the back of strong trading revenues. Netflix is set to report earnings after the bell. 

On the data front, the weekly jobless claims number came in slightly worse than expected. The Labor Department said a total of 1.30 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, compared to Dow Jones estimates of 1.25 million first-time filers. 

Meanwhile, retail sales jumped 7.5% in June, topping expectations of a 5.2% increase per Dow Jones. This reading came after May's 17.7% surge, which blew past estimates and was the largest reading on record.

Thursday's moves came following a major sell-off in mainland Chinese stocks, which saw the Shanghai composite down more than 4% on the day. That came despite China reporting that the country's GDP grew 3.2% in the second quarter of the year as compared to a year ago — above expectations of a 2.5% growth by economics in a Reuters poll.

Stocks finished Wednesday's session higher, fueled by positive news regarding a potential coronavirus vaccine, as well as strong earnings results from Goldman Sachs.

U.S. Treasuries are holding steady near their flat lines. The 2-yr yield is up one basis point to 0.15%, and the 10-yr yield is down one basis point to 0.62%. The U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.1% to 96.14. WTI crude futures are down 1.1%, or $0.47, to $40.73/bbl.