Day Traders Diary

10/2/24

The major averages are modestly lower to start the day on a number of weak corporate news this morning as tensions remain high in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 40 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 is down 10 points while the Nasdaq Composite fell 14 points.

On the corporate news, Nike is down 5% after the sneaker giant pulled full-year guidance ahead of its CEO change. Tesla is down 3% after reporting lower than expected delivery numbers. Humana is down 12% on lower Medicare Star rating. Two food distributors, Congra Brands and Cal Maine are down 8% and 1% on third quarter earnings guidance.

Oil remains elevated following Iran's firing of ballistic missiles on Israel. Israel says they will retaliate along with a ground operation into Lebanon. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) remains elevated as well.

The 10-year Treasury is up 6 basis points to 3.80%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury is up 2 basis points to 3.63%.  The ADP data released Wednesday showed better-than-expected private payroll growth in September. This Friday we will get the nonfarm payroll report.

The Chinese markets and ETFs continue to soar even as the Chinese market is closed for a holiday. Chinese equities has performed well after Beijing unleashed a flood of stimulus measures to aid a deep economic slump, including rate cuts and reducing the amount of cash banks need to have on hand.