Day Traders Diary

3/19/24

The major averages opened lower, but then battled back as profit-taking in the AI space and Bitcoin brought in new buyers by the end of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 320 points or 0.83%. The S&P 500 rose 29 points or 0.56% while Nasdaq fell 63 points or 0.39%.

Chip darling Nvidia opened down 3% following the release of a new chip at their first ever GTC Conference. CEO Jensen Huang unveiled Nvidia's latest AI chip, labeled Blackwel. The new chip is a significantly more powerful successor to its current chip that powers a multitude of AI operations. Nvidia finished in the green, but the rest of the chip stocks were lower. AMD fell 5% on concerns they are falling behind.  

AI benefactor, Super Micro Computer fell 8%, but is still up 250% this year after being added to the S&P 500 on Monday.

Treasury yields were modestly lower as Wall Street turns its attention to the Federal Reserve as they kick off the start of their two-day policy meeting.

A recent slate of worrying inflation reports has investors concerned that the central bank could signal interest rates will remain higher for longer than expected. Fed funds futures are currently forecasting a 99% likelihood that the Fed will leave benchmark interest rates unchanged this week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.