Day Traders Diary

8.4.23

The major averages reversed falling into the red as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed lower for a fourth straight session, and notched their worst weeks since March, as traders seemed to book profits following the latest corporate earnings releases and U.S. jobs data.

The S&P 500 closed down 23 points shedding 0.53% to finish at 4,478 while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 50 points or 0.36% to close at 13,909. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 150 points, or 0.43%, to end at 35,065.

For the week, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped about 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively, to notch their worst weeks since March. The Dow fell 1.1% on the week.

After being lower on the day, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) rose to trade above 16 — pointing to investors adding volatility protection.

Friday marked the final day of the busiest week for corporate earnings for the second-quarter. Amazon

 jumped 8.3% to its highest level in nearly a year after trouncing expectations on profit and offering positive guidance. Apple lost 4.8% after reporting lower revenue than the year-ago quarter. Both tech giants reported results late Thursday. Booking Holdings gained 7.9% on stronger-than-expected results a day after Expedia reported disappointing numbers. Amgen popped 5.5% on solid earnings and a boosted guidance.

Earnings reports this season for the quarter ended in June have continued to surprise some Wall Street analysts as the expected slowdown in profits proves less than feared. About 84% of S&P 500 companies have given results, with 80% surpassing Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.

The 10-year Treasury yield also pulled back from a multi-month high to 4.04% after a cooler than expected jobs report. The data showed 187,000 jobs added in July, less than the 200,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate also ticked lower to 3.5% from 3.6%.