Day Traders Diary

3/4/24

The major averages retreated to start the week despite another rally in the tech sector tied to the artificial intelligence boom and bitcoin. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 97 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 38,989. The S&P 500 fell 6 points while the Nasdaq declined 67 points or 0.41%.

Even with the sell off, there were plenty of winners. AI darling Nvidia jumped 6% while Super Micro Computer jumped 18% after the announcement over the weekend it would join the S&P 500 later this month.

Bitcoin stocks also soared today including Microstrategy up 23% while Coinbase jumped 11% even as they reported more problems with transactions on their exchange and platform.

Not all techs were lower. Apple fell 2% after the European Union filed a $2 billion file against them and their music streaming service. Tesla dropped more than 7% after announcing new price discounts and incentives late last week.

Not all autos were down. Ford rose 2% on the back of strong sales data. In the retail space, Macy's jumped 13% on a takeover offer from a private equity firm.

JetBlue rose more than 4%, while Spirit Airlines tumbled more than 10%. The airlines said Monday that they would end plans to combine, weeks after losing a federal antitrust lawsuit that jeopardized the $3.8-billion deal.

Today's losses come after the markets have raced higher over the past several weeks, fueled by AI-focused excitement. The technology-heavy Nasdaq registered an all-time high on Friday, breaking a 2021 record to become the last of the major stock indexes to reach a record close this year.