Day Traders Diary

10/15/20

The major averages fell for a third day in a row on Thursday as hope for a U.S. coronavirus stimulus deal continues to decrease while infections across Europe are on the rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 19 points at 28,494. Earlier in the day, however, the 30-stock average was down more than 300 points. The S&P 500 slid 5 points 0.15% while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 54 points or 0.47% to 11,713.

Facebook led most of Big Tech lower, falling 1.9% amid rising regulatory concerns. Amazon dipped 0.8%. Alphabet and Microsoft each fell 0.5% and Apple dipped 0.4%. Those losses were somewhat offset by gains in bank and energy names. JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were all up more than 1%. Exxon Mobil and Chevron gained 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

Thursday's losses marked the third straight daily decline for the major averages, their longest losing streak in nearly a month.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he and President Donald Trump are committed to getting a stimulus deal done and that while it will be hard to get one done before the election, they will keep trying.

Mnuchin, who plans to speak with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi again Thursday, said progress has been made, specifically in reference to Democrats' testing language for the deal. However, he said that "politics" may be getting in the way and that the Democrats still want an "all or nothing" deal.

Sentiment was also dampened as some European governments reinstate pandemic restrictions to curb a second wave of the coronavirus. France has declared a public health state of emergency and the U.K. is nearing a second national lockdown. European stock benchmarks dropped broadly.

On the earnings front, Morgan Stanley rose a percent while Charles Schwab jumped 5% providing a lift for the financial sector. United Airlines dropped 3.8% reported worse-than-expected results as sales fell 78%.

U.S. Treasuries finished near their flat lines after starting the session with modest gains. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.13%, and the 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.73%. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced 0.5% to 93.83 amid relative weakness in the British pound. WTI crude futures declined 0.2%, or $0.06, to $40.96/bbl.