Day Traders Diary

5/1/25

The major averages are off to a good start here in May following strong quarterly results from two big tech stocks like Microsoft and Meta. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 200 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 rose 55 points or 1% while the Nasdaq Composite rose 340 points or 2%.

Better than expected earnings and strong sales are lifting Microsoft 8% and Meta 5%. Both companies reiterated strong demand and spending for AI helping lift Nvidia by 4%.  Software stocks are also having a great day as the sector is up over 3%.

Outside tech, healthcare is the weakest sector down nearly 2%. Eli Lilly darling is down over 10% on profit-taking from earnings. CVS Health is one of the few health related stocks higher today, up 6% on earnings.

On the economic front, weekly jobless claims came in at 241,000, more than the Dow Jones estimate of 225,000. That jump exacerbated further concerns about the economy after the weak first-quarter gross-domestic-product report earlier in the week and raises the stakes for April's nonfarm payrolls reading on Friday. The benchmark 10-year Treasury rose 4 basis points to 4.22%. The 2-year note rose 4 basis points to 3.67%.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P 500 and the 30-stock Dow posted gains to end a volatile April. During the month of April, the S&P 500 fell 15% briefly slipping into bear market territory down 20% from the February record highs. For the month, the S&P 500 and the Dow fell 0.8% and 3.2%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9% in the period.