Day Traders Diary

1/5/20

The major averages recovering from sharp losses to start the year as traders made bets for a strong global economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 167 points or 0.6%, at 30,391. The S&P 500 advanced 0.7% to 3,726 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed nearly 1% to 12,818.

Boeing was the best-performing stock in the Dow, gaining 4.4%. Energy stocks advanced 4.5% — their biggest one-day jump since Dec. 4 — after Saudi Arabia agreed to voluntary production cuts in February and March. Chevron rose 2.7%. The news also sent U.S. oil futures up 4.9% to briefly break above $50 per barrel for the first time since February.

Sentiment also got a boost from stronger-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 60.7 in December, its highest level since August 2018, from 57.5 in November. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the index to come in at 57.

Tuesday's moves came after a steep decline for stocks on Monday, the first trading day of 2021. The three major averages all fell more than 1% in the previous session.

Meanwhile, rising Covid-19 cases globally and new lockdown restrictions continued to keep investors on edge. More than 85 million Covid-19 cases have been confirmed globally, including 20.8 million in the U.S., according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

On Monday, England imposed a third coronavirus lockdown as the region grapples with a more transmissible variant of Covid-19. New York state has confirmed its first case of the new strain, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

Longer-dated Treasury yields rose amid increased selling interest as part of the recovery-minded trade today. The 2-yr yield finished flat at 0.12%, while the 10-yr yield increased four basis points to 0.96%. The U.S. Dollar Index decreased 0.4% to 89.51.