Day Traders Diary

11/4/20

The major averages surge once again even as the results of the presidential contest so far failed to yield a clear winner. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 367 points or 1.34%. The S&P 500 finished up 74 points or 2.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite popped 430 points or 3.85% thanks to Amazon, Apple and Microsoft all up at least 4%. Facebook popped 8%, while Google-parent Alphabet jumped more than 6%.

President Donald Trump is projected to win the presidential vote in Florida, Indiana, Alabama, North Dakota and Kentucky along with South Dakota, Arkansas and Ohio, NBC News said. Democratic nominee Joe Biden is projected to win Maine, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland and Massachusetts as well as Colorado, New York and Virginia, according to NBC News.

Biden appeared to be unable to take North Carolina, with Trump holding a lead in that state, according to NBC News. However, Biden was leading in Arizona and Michigan, according to NBC News, but it was too early to call the states.

NBC News projected that Biden is the apparent winner in Wisconsin, a state Trump won in 2016. Trump's campaign manager said Trump plans to request a formal recount in Wisconsin.

The campaigns for both candidates claimed they would win the race even though a half-dozen battleground states were still not called, including Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

Longer-dated Treasuries rallied alongside the growth-oriented stocks amid the recovery concerns and election uncertainty. The resulting curve-flattening activity was a headwind for the banks due to the possibility of reduced net interest income. The S&P500 bank index fell 5.4%.

The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.15%, and the 10-yr yield declined 11 basis points to 0.77%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.1% to 93.49. WTI crude futures rose 4.1%, or $1.54, to $39.16/bbl.