Day Traders Diary

5/21/24

The major averages rose once again with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at new record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66 points led by a rebound in JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and IBM. The S&P 500 rose 13 points while the Nasdaq rose 37 points.

Most of the market was quiet today. AI chipmaker, Nvidia was modestly higher by half a percent ahead of earnings tomorrow. Cybersecurity firm, Palo Alton Networks fell 3% on lackluster earnings last night. Another tech stock, Keysight Technologies fell 8% on earnings. The rest of the tech sector was quiet.

While the broad index has traded near record levels, many sectors are being left behind. It has been more than 40 calendar days since the material and energy sectors clinched a fresh 52-week high and more than 50 calendar days for health care and industrials. Consumer discretionary has not seen a new record in 80 days, as of Monday. It has been more than 140 days for real estate.

Bond yields were quiet today. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is down 3 basis points to 4.406%. The 2-year Treasury yield is down a basis point to 4.822%.

Many commodities are trading at or near 52 week highs or all-time highs. The price of coffee was up 4% today and up for a third consecutive winning day. Coffee futures have risen more than 16% since the start of the year.