Day Traders Diary

7/20/20

The major averages closed in the green led by the Nasdaq and tech shares once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 8 points while the S&P 500 advanced 0.8%, or 27 points, to 3,251 turning positive for 2020 with a 0.6% gain on the year. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 2.5%, or 263.90 points, to 10,767.

Amazon rose 7.9% to post its best day since December 2018 after a Goldman Sachs upgrade with a $3,800 price target. Facebook and Netflix gained more than 1% each, while Apple and Alphabet gained 2.1% and 3.1%, respectively. Shares of Microsoft jumped 4.3%. IBM is up 5% after hours following better than expected earnings.

Monday's strong gain in tech shares came after the Nasdaq's first negative week in three, while beaten-down value names outperformed in that time period.

In other news, Dow member Pfizer and partner BioNTech reported early positive data on a joint coronavirus vaccine candidate, saying the drug "elicited high, dose level-dependent SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing titers and RBD-binding IgG concentrations after the second dose.

Coronavirus cases have been rising at an alarming rate and now total more than 3.7 million in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.

In M&A activity, Noble Energy rose 5% after agreeing to be acquired by Chevron for $5 billion, or $10.38/share, in stock.

U.S. Treasuries finished little changed after trading near their flat lines all session. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.15%, and the 10-yr yield decreased one basis point to 0.62%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.1% to 98.82. WTI crude futures gained 0.7%, or $0.27, to $40.83/bbl.