Day Traders Diary

6/8/23

The major averages performed well as the markets built on recent gains, while traders look ahead to key inflation data next week ahead of the latest Federal Reserve's policy announcement.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 15 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 rose over half a percent while the Nasdaq Composite climbed over a percent.

Amazon led tech shares higher after bullish analyst commentary. The tech giant's shares rose more than 2% and pulled the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund up 1% Thursday.

Small-cap stocks have been showing strength in recent weeks. The Russell 2000 is up 7.6% in June and almost 7% year to date, indicating a potentially more resilient economy beyond the big-tech boom. However, the index dipped 0.2% on Thursday.

Investors seem to be in a holding pattern while awaiting the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting on June 13 and 14. Economic signs suggest that inflation is inching down, even as it remains above the central bank's 2% target. Mayfield added that the central bank may "feel a little bit more comfortable pausing in June, with plenty of optionality through July and beyond."

New weekly jobless claims data released on Thursday showed initial jobless claims reached their highest level since October 2021, indicating a potentially softening labor market. The uptick also raised expectations the Federal Reserve would pause its rate-hiking campaign at its meeting next week.