Day Traders Diary

9/30/24

 The major averages rallied into the close to cap off the best September in a while and another strong third quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points after being down over 100 points in the last hour. The S&P 500 rose 24 points while the Nasdaq rose 69 points. The Dow and S&P 500 both closed at record highs.  

The major averages notched their third consecutive week of gains. For the month, the Dow and the S&P 500 were up 1.9% and 2.7%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.7%. For the quarter, the Dow rose 8%. The S&P 500 rose 5.5% while the Nasdaq added 2.5% since the start of July.

Looking ahead, October has a troubling history for markets. It's known as a time of extreme volatility with some notable down drafts occurring during the month. However, the analyst at Canaccord Genuity noted that the fourth quarter is typically the strongest for stocks and ends positively in more than three out of every four years. The end of October is also, typically the start of the best six months of the markets.  

China continues its tear after initiating a new robust stimulus package last week. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF rose 2.2% on the open. The U.S. listed shares of Alibaba, the second-largest holding in the ETF, rose 4% on the open. JD.com, gained 5.4% on the open.

Big cap tech was quiet today as Nvidia fell a percent today, notching its first losing quarter since 2022. Micron fell 3% following strong earnings last week.