Day Traders Diary

8/22/24

The major averages reverse course after opening higher ahead of commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tomorrow in Jackson Hole. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 200 points. The S&P 500 fell 50 points or nearly 1% while the Nasdaq fell 300 points or 1.7%. .

The 10-year Treasury rose 10 basis points to 3.8%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury rose 10 basis points to 4.02% ahead of the Fed comments. Powell's expected speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday, hoping for rate cuts in September. Traders are currently pricing in a 100% chance of a decrease to borrowing costs next month, per the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

On the earnings front, software company Snowflake fell over 10% after it beat quarterly expectations and slightly raised its full-year product revenue guidance. Urban Outfitters was down 10% after the retailer's same-store sales in the second quarter disappointed analysts. To the upside following earnings we had Agilent, Peloton and Zoom Video. 

So far this week, the averages have drifted higher as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite posted their ninth winning session of the last 10. The S&P 500′s advance brought the broad index within 1% of its closing record.