Day Traders Diary

2/26/24

The major averages pulled back to start the week after reaching record highs last week on strong earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62 points or 0.16%. The S&P 500 fell 19 points or 0.38% while the Nasdaq Composite declined 20 points.

AI stocks initially resumed their rally as Nvidia was up a percent and Super Micro Computer rose 3%. Micron was higher by 4% as they ramp up production for use with Nvidia AI chips. Amazon was modestly higher as they are getting added to the Dow Jones, replacing Walgreens Boots Alliance. The Dow's holdings are weighted according to stock price, not market cap. The addition of the e-commerce giant will increase the index's exposure to tech and consumer retail.

Two months into the year, we will see if the AI momentum will last as economic and inflation risks linger.

There's a raft of economic releases on deck, including January durable orders data on Tuesday and January wholesale inventories on Wednesday.  On Thursday, the Fed's favorite inflation auge, the monthly personal consumption expenditures price index comes out Thursday.

Stocks are coming into the final week of February on a high note after the major indexes achieved key milestones and registered winning weeks with help from Nvidia's blockbuster earnings. The blue-chip Dow closed at an all-time high, the S&P at one point in the session broke above 5,100 for the first time, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite touched a 52-week high in Friday's session.