Day Traders Diary

10/7/24

The major averages continue their October slump with the price of oil rising 4% and another hurricane heads toward Florida. The Dow Jones Industrial Averag fell 398 points, or 0.94%. The S&P 500 fell 55 points or 0.96% while the Nasdaq fell 213 points or 1.18%.

The price of oil jumped 4% on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Isreal. The markets are worried Israel is set to strike Iran's oil industry which could led to disruptions of oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

The 10-year yield rose 5 basis points to 4.028%, its highest since early August and a big turnaround from its 2024 low of around 3.58% reached a little more than a month ago. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was up 7 basis points to 3.9%. Yields move inversely to prices. One basis point equals 0.01%.

Energy stocks were up 0.4% as the only sector in the S&P 500 to trade in positive territory. The utilities and consumer discretionary sectors were laggards, both down more than 2%.

On the economy and corporate news front this week, the Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Wednesday and the consumer price index report on Thursday. Earnings season starts in earnest this week with Delta Air Lines and JPMorgan Chase due out Thursday and then Friday.

Today's move comes after the major averages saved a lousy week with a surge on Friday.

Last week, the S&P 500 added 0.2% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.1% and the Dow added 0.1%.