Day Traders Diary

10/22/24

The major averages closed near the flat line as earnings flood in today and interest rates continue to slowly climb. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 points after dropping 200 points this morning. The S&P 500 fell 2 points while the Nasdaq rose 33 points.

The two headlines today were interest rates higher and earnings. The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield climbed above 4.2% for the first time in three months before slightly pulling back from that level. Cautious commentary from Federal Reserve officials on the path of interest rate cuts has pushed yields higher of late with the 10-year up half a percent in the last month. Homebuilding stocks like Lennar and D.R. Horton are both down 3%.

On the earnings front, there were a plethora of earnings this morning. Earnings came in from the likes of GE Aerospace, Danaher, GM, 3M, Philip Morris, Verizon, RTX, Lockheed, Sherwin Williams, Norfolk Southern, Paccar, Southern Copper, Dennys and Genuine Auto Parts.

General Motors (GM) was the diamond of the day up 9% after easily beating estimates as revenue rose 10% to $48.76 billion. GM also raised third-quarter expectations and full-year guidance thanks to strong demand for their GMC Yukon and Chevy Silverado. The company also said its getting closer to profitability on their EV cars.

Profit-taking in Lockheed Martin (LMT). The defense contractor was down 6% even though they posted strong earnings and raised guidance. The one blemish was revenue rose just 1.3% to $17.10 billion. The company has a huge backlog of business worth $165 billion. Lockheed is also continuing to spend billions on buybacks while hiking their dividend 5%, marking 22 years of consistent hikes.  

So far, roughly one-fifth of companies in the S&P 500 have reported results, with the majority topping earnings estimates, according to FactSet.