Day Traders Diary

7/15/24

The major averages were strong today as the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump raised his poll numbers and spurred hopes for more friendlier fiscal policies ahead. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 210 points, or 0.523% to a new high. The S&P 500 added 15 points or 0.26% while the Nasdaq rose 74 points or 0.40%. The Russell 2000 was a big winner up nearly 2% after touching its highest level since 2022 for a fourth straight positive day.

Tech, the banks and small caps performed well today. Goldman Sachs rose 2% on better-than-expected earnings. JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, KKR and Blackstone were all up over 2% as well. Blackrock actually fell a percent on better than expected earnings.  

In the tech space, Tesla rose 2%, Coincidently, Elon Musk endorsed former President Trump. The AI tech stocks soared on the open, but have since pulled back. Nvidia and Tiawan Semiconductor fell in the red even as both received upgrades.

In the healthcare space, Humana and UnitedHealth Group both rose a percent as the insurers could benefit from fewer cost pressures coming from a Republican administration.

Bitcoin rose 6% based on odds former President Donald Trump would win the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Interest rates were little changed as the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made comments indicating the central bank wouldn't wait until inflation was at its goal of 2% before cutting rates. He also said a hard landing scenario is unlikely for the economy. The odds of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September has jumped to 89% according to CME FedWatch Tool,