Day Traders Diary

8/7/23

The major averages closed higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 400 points after a quiet start. The Dow Jones finished up 407 points or 1.16% led by Boeing, Unitedhealth Group, J&J, and Walmart. Apple is one of the few Dow components to close lower following earnings last week. The S&P 500 jumped 40 points or 0.09% while the Nasdaq closed up 85 points or 0.61% .  

Berkshire Hathaway climbed nearly 2% to a record high after strong insurance sales and a record cash stockpile.  Tyson Foods slid 3% on an underwhelming report. Campbell Soup fell nearly 2% after agreeing to acquire Rao's parent company, Sovos Brands. Sovos jumped 25% on the news.

Today's rally followed a losing week on Wall Street when the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 slid 2.9% and 2.3%, marking the worst week since March. The Dow finished the week down 1%.

With the end of July, earnings are starting to slow down. Of the 85% of companies in the S&P 500 that have posted their quarterly results, about four-fifths have exceeded Wall Street forecasts, according to FactSet.

Later in the week, investors will focus on the July consumer and producer price index data. Both are closely watched given their connection to the path of inflation and the health of the economy.