Day Traders Diary

9/3/24

The major averages sold off sharply to start the month of September due to weak economic data and fears of an economy slowing more than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 626 points or 1.3% The S&P 500 fell 119 points or 2% while the Nasdaq Composite fell 577 points or 3.2%.

Interest rates were lower following manufacturing production numbers that showed signs of an economy slowing more sharply than expected. This Friday we will get the July, ADP's private payrolls data for August and the August jobs report, which includes nonfarm payrolls and the latest unemployment rate.

Today was a risk off day with the chip sector down 6% or more. Nvidia fell 9% following better than expected earnings last week. All the big cap stocks were lower as well.

Oil prices fell more than 3% on Tuesday, with U.S. crude negative for the year with Brent crude at its lowest level since December 2023.

The dog of the day goes to Boeing (BA) down 7% to a 52 week low on a downgrade at  Wells Fargo and a bearish outlook for free cash flow going forward. The new price target is $119 a share or 30% below current levels. Besides trading at a 52 week low, the stock is also at a seven year low.

Consumer staples and utilities were the two leading sectors in the S&P 500 on Tuesday,

Among the consumer staples, J.M. Smucker rose 3% while Campbell Soup rose more than 2%. Utilities stocks like Southern Company and Duke Energy are modestly higher by a 1%. AT&T and Verizon are higher by 2% in the telecom space.

September starts the same as August with a sharp sell off, but the major averages did all close higher for August. September is statistically the worse month of the year.