Day Traders Diary

7/29/24

The major averages are modestly higher to start the week as more corporate earnings come in from a number of big cap and large cap tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 4 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 is up 18 points or 433% while the Nasdaq Composite is up 116 points.

This week's earnings slate will play a role in determining whether tech stocks can now bounce back. Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple and Amazon are all set to report their quarterly results in the coming days.

So far McDonalds is the diamond, lifting the Dow, up 4% on earnings. The earnings were not great, missing by 10 cents as revenues fell 0.1% to $6.49 billion. Global comparable sales decreased 1.0%, reflecting negative comparable sales across all segments:U.S. decreased 0.7%. International Operated Markets segment decreased 1.1%. International Developmental Licensed Markets segment decreased 1.3%

On the bond and interest rate front, the Federal Reserve meeting, with the central bank set to release a new policy statement on Wednesday. The Fed is not expected to cut interest rates this week, but traders will be looking for clues as to how likely the central bank is to make a move at its September meeting.

Today's move comes after a volatile week in the stock market. The S&P 500 dipped 0.8% to end the week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1%. However, the Dow rose 0.8% and the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 3.5%.