Day Traders Diary
6/23/21
The major averages closed mixed with the S&P 500 erasing modest gains earlier, closing in the red on Wednesday as the market's comeback rally took a breather. The S&P 500 dipped 0.1% or 4 points, sitting 0.4% from an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 71 points or 0.21% after trading near the flatline for most of the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose 18 points or 0.13% after reaching an intraday record earlier Wednesday after closing at a fresh high in the previous session.
Energy names including Exxon Mobil and Chevron climbed as oil prices continued to rise. Brent crude topped $75 a barrel to hit a two-year high on Wednesday. Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum jumped about 4% each.
Many major technology names also traded in the green. Tesla jumped 4.5%, while Netflix gained over 1%. Facebook and Alphabet also traded higher.
The S&P 500 has risen 2% this week, bouncing back from a sell-off last week triggered by the Federal Reserve's surprise policy shift. The central bank projected much higher inflation for the year than previously, while signaling two rate increases as soon as 2023.
For June the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are in the green, rising 1.2% and 4%, respectively. The Dow, however, is in the red for the month amid weakness in Caterpillar and JPMorgan.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testified before a special House panel on Tuesday, which appeared to lift sentiment as he reiterated that inflation pressures will be temporary.
Powell cited airline tickets, hotel prices and lumber along with generally surging consumer demand pumping up an economy that a year ago faced substantial government-imposed restrictions in the early days of the pandemic. Those factors, he said, should "resolve themselves" in the coming months.
Bitcoin staged an impressive comeback on Tuesday that was carrying through on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the cryptocurrency at one point dipped below $30,000 and erased its gains for 2021. But bitcoin ultimately recouped all of the more than 11% loss and finished the session in positive territory, according to data from Coin Metrics.
At last check, bitcoin was up another 4% to above $34,000 on Wednesday.
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