Day Traders Diary

7/21/20

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 performed well as money rotated out of the tech sector into beaten-down value stocks. The 30-stock Dow gained 159 points, or 0.6%, to close at 26,840. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 3,257. Both the Dow and S&P 500 cut their gains in the final 30 minutes of trading. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, dropped 0.8% to 10,680.36 after hitting an intraday record earlier in the day.

Shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft and Apple were all down more than 1%. Alphabet shares slid 0.5%. Even IBM which rose 5% to start the day finished in the red. The muted performance of the techs comes after a big run-up to start July.

Bank stocks performed well with JPMorgan Chase advanced 2.2% and Bank of America advanced 3.6%.

Sentiment was also lifted Tuesday after the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, agreed to a 750 billion euro stimulus package. The stimulus is designed to help countries and sectors in the region most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the U.S., investors were monitoring the talks in Washington on the next coronavirus relief bill. Lawmakers face pressure to pass legislation before the end of the month, when the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit is set to expire.

Elsewhere, U.S. Treasuries and gold prices ($1843.60/ozt, +26.50, +1.4%) finished the day higher. The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.14%, and the 10-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.61%. The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.7% to 95.20. WTI crude gained 2.3%, or $0.93, to $41.76/bbl.