Day Traders Diary

8/8/23

The major averages retreat once again here in August reignited by a downgrade of the banking sector by credit rating agency Moody's. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 158 points or 0.45% led by a decline in Goldman Sachs. The S&P 500 fell 19 points while the Nasdaq Composite declined 110 points.

Banks fell broadly after Moody's downgraded the credit rating on several banks, including M&T Bank and Pinnacle Financial. The credit agency also placed Bank of N.Y. Mellon and State Street on review for a downgrade. M&T fell a percent while Pinnacle declined 2%. Among the big banks, Bank of America fell 2% while Wells Fargo and Citigroup declined a percent. The SPDR S&P Regional banking ETF fell 1.32%.

Earnings season continued. UPS shares fell modestly down a percent after the delivery giant reported weaker-than-expected revenue for the second quarter. The company also lowered its full-year revenue outlook. Educational tech company Chegg rose 4% thanks to better than expected earnings.

The corporate earnings season has so far been better-than-expected. With roughly 89% of S&P 500 stocks done reporting quarterly results, about four-fifths of them have beaten Wall Street's expectations, according to FactSet.