Day Traders Diary

12/23/24

The major averages took a hit with the Dow Jones suffering its worst day in more than a month thanks to lackluster earnings and Treasury yields that continue to back up. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 409 points or 0.96% with weakness in McDonalds and Boeing. The S&P 500 fell 53 points or 0.92% while the Nasdaq fell 296 points or 1.6%.  

Besides earnings, the big news today was McDonalds down 5% after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an E. coli outbreak tied to the fast-food giant's Quarter Pounder burgers has resulted in 10 hospitalizations and one death. Coca-Cola, a distributor for McDonalds, was down as well following third-quarter earnings beat.

Other stocks reporting earnings today included Boeing, AT&T, Texas Instruments, Seagate, Hilton, Amphenol and Travelzoo.  AT&T was a diamond up 2% to a new recent high on earnings. Texas Instruments was one of the few chip stocks and tech stocks higher today. Apple fell 2% on cautious analyst comments on iphone sales.

Boeing was down nearly 2% after a big quarterly loss.  

Higher yields keep putting pressure on the averages. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was up two basis points to 4.23% after rising 12 basis points on Monday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was at 4.06%, up three basis points. Robust economic data and deficit worries are at least two factors contributing to the recent rise in interest rates.