Day Traders Diary

5/2/25

The major averages closed higher once again as the S&P 500 posted its longest winning streak in 20 years thanks to stronger than expected earnings this week and better than expected economic data out this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 564 points, or 1.39%. The S&P 500 rose 82 points or 1.47%, higher for its nineth straight up day. The Nasdaq Composite rose 266 points or 1.55%.

All three major averages posted their second positive week in a row. The S&P 500 added 2.9%, sitting more than 7% below its February high after dropping into a 20% correction mid-month. The Dow posted a 3% advance on the week, while the Nasdaq added 3.4%.

Payrolls grew by 177,000 in April, above the 133,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had anticipated. That figure is still down sharply from the 228,000 added in March but much better than feared after recession worries grew last month. The unemployment rate stood at 4.2%, in line with expectations. Bond yields rose with the 10-year Treasury note yield is up 8 basis points to 4.31%. The 2-year Treasury yield surged by more than 12 basis points to 3.82%.

On the earnings front, Apple and Amazon attributed to the initial weakness in the tech space. Apple fell over 4% on the open and remains not far from its lows losing its market cap leadership to Microsoft this week. Amazon has bounced back. The rest of the big cap techs are higher.

Outside the tech space, Amgen fell a percent on earnings. The rest of the market looked pretty good.

Besides the economic data, the markets got a bump on news China is evaluating the possibility of starting trade negotiations with the U.S.

In the commodity space, the price of oil was lower, one of its biggest weekly loses in months ahead of OPEC+ meeting. Gold was quiet heading for a weekly loss after a big run to start the year. Bitcoin was higher up 3.5% on the week at its best level in months.