Day Traders Diary

4/16/24

The major averages closed mixed with the Dow higher, snapping a six day losing streak for the Blue Chip average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63 points or 0.17%. The S&P 500 fell 10 points while the Nasdaq fell 19 points.

UnitedHealth led the Dow higher, up 5% on better than expected earnings. Another Dow component, Johnson & Johnson fell 2% on a mixed quarterly results.

More banks are reporting earnings. Morgan Stanley was up 2% after beating analyst consensus forecasts on both earnings and sales. Bank of America and PNC were lower even as they beat estimates.  

The 10-year U.S. Treasury was higher again, trading above the key 4.6% level, marking its highest point going back to November. The retail sales figures for March that came out on Monday was far higher than expected at 0.7%.

Oil was quiet, but above $85 a barrel as tensions in the Middle East remain high after Iran's launch of missiles and drones at Israel on Saturday. The CBOE Volatility Index, or fear gauge, rose above 19 this morning which is a six month high.