Day Traders Diary

9/23/24

The major averages opened quietly to start the week but finished in the green adding on to this strong start to September following the much-anticipated interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61 points. The S&P 500 rose 16 points while the Nasdaq rose 25 points.

The markets seem to be running on fumes and a little exhausted after a strong run. Big cap tech was quietly and in the red. In the chip space, Micron was up 2% ahead of earnings later this week on an upgrade. Intel was up 2% on rumors over the weekend that Qualcomm is interested in buying the firm. Many on Wall Street don't like the potential deal. Tesla was up 4% on better than expected sales in China of late. Tesla also has a Robotaxi conference coming up next month.

Treasuries inched up today and last week following the Fed's rate cut. The 10-year Treasury yield was up a basis point to 3.73%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note was flat at 3.57%.

Commodities like Gold and Bitcoin continue to rally since the Fed rate cut. Gold is at a new record high.

Healthcare stocks were modestly under pressure.

GM was lower by 2% on a downgrade due to rising earnings headwinds and concerns of additional capital requirements due in part to inventory builds that could cause pricing headwinds next year, coupled with a delayed ramp on electric vehicles. GM's international businesses are struggling as well. Other than that, things are great.

Last week, the Dow ended Friday at an all-time high, above 42,000. All three of the major indexes added more than 1% for the week, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record high.