Day Traders Diary

5/2/22

The major averages staged a late comeback on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hitting new lows for the year before closing up for the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.63% or 201 points to 12,536 while the S&P 500 rose 0.57% or 23 points to 4,155. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 84 points, or 0.26%, to close at 33,061. The Dow was down more than 400 points at its session lows.

The wild trading session came on the heels of a rough April for stocks. The Dow and S&P 500 are coming off their worst month since March 2020, when the pandemic took hold. The Nasdaq had its worst month since 2008.

David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors, said on CNBC's "The Exchange" that the market has been overly worried about an economic slowdown and investors should step in to buy the dip in stocks.

Other market strategists, however, warned of a possible short-lived relief rally and pointed to the fresh lows as a sign that stocks still had further to fall.

Tech was a particular weak point in April, but the group led the rebound on Monday. Netflix and Facebook-parent Meta Platforms jumped 4.8% and 5.3%, respectively. Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet advanced more than 2% each.

Apple and Amazon closed up less than 1% after spending much of the session in negative territory. Art Cashin of UBS said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that the trading of Apple and Amazon in particular could be a barometer of the next steps for the broader market.

Semiconductors and energy stocks were two areas of strength on Monday. Intel and Chevron rose 3.1% and 2%, respectively, to support the Dow.

Volatility in the bond market likely contributed to the swings in stocks on Monday. The 10-year Treasury yield rose above 3% for the first time since 2018

Investors are looking ahead to Wednesday, when the Federal Open Market Committee will issue a statement on monetary policy. The decision will be released at 2 p.m. ET, with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holding a press conference at 2:30 p.m.