Day Traders Diary

1/23/20

The major averages rebounded into the close with only the Dow finishing in the red as the World Health Organization quelled some of the fears around the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China.

The S&P 500 closed 0.1% higher at 3,325 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 9,402, notching a record closing high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 26 points, or 0.1% at 29,160.09.

Investors had been fretting over the virus as the number of confirmed cases topped 600. The virus originated in Wuhan, China and cases have now been reported in Singapore and the U.S. Following the encouraging comments out of the WHO, American Airlines jumped 5.4%. UAL was higher by 1.9% following earnings the other night.

Asian shares tumbled overnight, while Chinese Treasury futures surged, as fears of an economic fallout from the virus sent investors running for cover. The Shanghai Composite dropped 2.75%, its biggest one-day loss since May 6, when it plummeted 5.6%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1% along with Korea's Kospi index.

On the earnings front, Comcast fell 3.8% in more cord-cutting hurting the entertainment sector. Texas Instruments, Travelers and Freeport also finished in the red following earnings. Teradyne, Kimberly Clark, Jetblue, VF Corp, M&T Bank and Southwest finished in the green following earnings.  

U.S. Treasury market experienced some curve-flattening activity. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 1.52%, while the 10-yr yield declined three basis points to 1.74%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 97.68.