Day Traders Diary

9/15/20

The major averages closed higher again building on the strong performance from the previous session, on the back of broad market gains and solid economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up just 2 points after rallying 237 points in the morning. The S&P 500 gained 17 points or 0.5% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2% or 133 points.

Techs led the rally once again. Apple closed modestly higher, but Microsoft jumped 1.1%. Amazon rose 1.5% along with Alphabet. Netflix gained 4% and Facebook traded higher by 1.4%. Tesla shares, meanwhile, popped 9% after surging more than 12% on Monday. Those sharp moves higher come after a sharp sell-off in Big Tech last week, which pressured the broader market.

Other parts of the market participated in Tuesday's move higher. The S&P 500 real estate and utilities sectors were up more than 1%. Materials, industrials and energy were also higher.

Stocks also got a boost after China reported its first retail sales increase for the year. The country's National Bureau of Statistics said Chinese retail sales rose 0.5% in August. The Shanghai Composite closed 0.5% higher on Tuesday.

Tuesday's gains came after the major averages popped more than 1% on Monday, boosted by a slew of deal making activity and a rally in tech stocks. Hopes around a potential coronavirus vaccine also lifted sentiment on Monday.

Optimism about the United States getting a better handle on the virus was a major reason that LPL Financial raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to a range of 3,450–3,500, said Jeff Buchbinder, an equity strategist at the firm. That target implies an upside of roughly 2% for the market over the rest of the year.

U.S. Treasuries finished mixed and little changed. The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.13%, and the 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.68%. The U.S. Dollar Index was flat at 93.08. WTI crude futures rose 2.9%, or $1.08, to $37.22/bbl.