Day Traders Diary

5/19/23

 The major averages reversed course, pulling back in the afternoon after the GOP negotiators halted ongoing debt ceiling negotiations, stoking doubt of a deal being reached soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109 points or 0.33%. The S&P 500 fell 6 points while the Nasdaq declined 30 points.

Those moves come after GOP negotiators on Friday walked out of a debt ceiling meeting, with Rep. Garret Graves saying the White House team is "unreasonable," according to NBC News. "We're not going to sit here and talk to ourselves," Graves said.

Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell probably keep the averages from declining further after saying interest rates may not have to rise as much further to slow inflation.

The major averages still had a great week with the S&P 500 up 1.7%, the best week since March. The Nasdaq Composite rose 3% on the week. Its best week since March as well. The Dow rose 0.4% on the week.

A majority of the weekly gains came Wednesday and Thursday, as traders mounted bets that a U.S. debt ceiling deal would be reached. Comments from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Thursday seemed to suggest a potential deal could come as soon as next week.

The UBS market strategist remains bearish telling their investors they are better off playing defense in their portfolio, given the current backdrop.