Day Traders Diary

4/11/24

The major averages closed mixed once again as concerns over inflation have dented investor sentiment this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2 points after dropping 200 points on the open. The S&P 500 actually rose 38 points while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 271 points or 1.68%.

The producer price index reading for March came in below estimates, providing some relief after Wednesday's selloff on a faster-than-expected rise in prices for consumer goods and services. Wholesale prices rose 0.2% in March, while economists polled by Dow Jones expected 0.3% growth. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2%, in line with forecasts. On a yearly basis, wholesale prices jumped by 2.1%, the highest level since April 2023.

Today's data comes on the back of a hotter than expected March consumer price index reading released Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury yield is 4.57% while the 2-year Treasury is at 4.94%.

Earnings season will start this week with a number of banks reporting tomorrow. The banks opened lower, but rebounded except for Morgan Stanley. Today, CarMax (KMX) was sharply lower after missing earnings and sales numbers. Fastenal was also lower after missing estimates. Energy and commodities have performed well this week, but Peabody Energy is lower after providing downside guidance.

To the upside, Nvidia was higher by 4% on an upgrade with a $1100 price target. Apple jumped 4% in the afternoon on positive analyst comments. Microsoft and Google were higher as well.

The major averages are all on pace to end the week in the red. The Dow and S&P 500 are both down more than 1% for the week, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq has dropped 0.4%.