Here are the top five things investors need to know to start day trading:
1. Hot belt
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each hit all-time highs on Wednesday and closed at records. (Markets were closed Thursday for the Fourth of July holiday.) The broad market index added 0.51%, while the tech-heavy index rose 0.88%, led by megacap tech names such as Tesla AND Nvidia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, sliding 23.85 points, or 0.06%, for the day. Trading volume was light on Wednesday as the New York Stock Exchange closed early. Follow live market updates.
2. Slowing down?
Sign at a job fair at Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, North Carolina, USA, on Thursday, April 11, 2024.
Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Friday’s jobs report is expected to show slowing wage gains as concerns grow about the broader economy. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the June nonfarm payrolls report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, to show an increase of 200,000. If that happens, it would be down from the 272,000 reported for May. The projected pace of job growth is still solid, but investors and economists will be watching the unemployment rate, which has been rising slowly. It rose to 4% in May, the first time it had reached that threshold since January 2022, and is expected to stay there.
3. Luxury goes global
Saks Fifth Avenue Store at Waterside Shops.
John Graham | Light Rocket | Getty Images
HBC, the parent of Saks Fifth Avenue, said it will buy fellow luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group in a deal valued at $2.65 billion. The acquisition will create Saks Global, which will include Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman chain stores. Saks.com CEO Marc Metrick will become CEO of Saks Global as part of the deal, and HBC CEO Richard Baker will serve as executive chairman of the company. The deal comes at a tumultuous time for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, which have struggled in light of the e-commerce boom.
4. The Fed talks
A trader works as a screen broadcasts a press conference by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following the Fed’s rate announcement on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, June 12, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Federal Reserve officials at their June meeting indicated that inflation is moving in the right direction. But they reiterated that they are not ready to cut interest rates from their current range until they have “greater confidence” that inflation is moving toward the Fed’s 2% target. Minutes from the meeting that were released on Wednesday showed that there was some disagreement among the 19 central bankers who took part in the talks, with some even indicating that they might be inclined to raise rates. But in the end they decided to keep rates steady at 5.25%-5.50%.
5. Biden’s reaction
US President Joe Biden speaks about extreme weather at the DC Emergency Operations Center in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2024.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
Several wealthy Democratic donors, including an heiress to the Disney family fortune, said they will freeze donations to the party until President Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race. The uprising comes after Biden’s disastrous debate performance raised concerns about Biden’s ability to win the race against former President Donald Trump. Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of Walt Disney Company co-founder Roy O. Disney, has funded the party for years, but told CNBC that she is stopping her contributions because “the stakes are so high.” And she is not alone. Gideon Stein, president of the Moriah Fund, also said he is withholding the planned $3.5 million in donations unless Biden withdraws. The president has said that he has no plans to retire.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Jeff Cox and Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.
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