Day Traders Diary

11/5/24

The major averages rallied into the close ahead of tonight's election results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 427 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 rose 70 points or 1.23% while the Nasdaq rose 259 points or 1.4%.

The race remains "neck and neck" between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Close attention also remains on which party will control Congress, given that a sweep by Republicans or Democrats could contribute to drastic spending changes or a big revamp of tax policy.

It was a risk on day as tech stocks like Tesla rose 3% and Nvidia rose nearly 3% while the rest of the big cap techs were higher as well. All sectors were higher today. Commodities like gold and oil were higher as well. Bitcoin rose 3% moving back toward the highs for the year.

Bonds were modestly higher.  The 10-year Treasury was up 5 basis points to 4.36%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was up 5 basis points to 4.2%. The Federal Reserve's is expected to cut rates by a quarter of a percent on Thursday. Traders are pricing in 98% odds of a quarter-point cut following September's half-point reduction, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

The S&P 500 is already up more than 19% year to date without dividends, an unusually strong run up ahead of an election, and is within 3% of its record highs.