(DAILY NOTION): The Bulls of Wall Street Fight Back Hard to Pare Losses, Next Mover: Biden Stimulus Package Progress, Powell's Testimony

NASDAQ 100 (as of Feb 24, 2021 at 12.35 p.m.)

Source: Yahoo Finance

SPX 500 (as of Feb 24, 2021 at 12.35 p.m.)

Source: Yahoo Finance

US30 (as of Feb 24, 2021 at 12.35 p.m.)

Source: Yahoo Finance

The Wall Street bulls experienced a tough day defending their stance yesterday as the NAS100 lost 1.47%, the SPX500 dipped 0.41%, while the US30 dropped 0.21%. These losses were mainly due to technology and technology adjacent companies that took a hit. Shares of Tesla dipped 3.8%, as a result of the sell-off in the technology sector and Bitcoin’s price drop. Apple, Microsoft Corporation, and Amazon also recorded notable losses.

However, it must be noted as a remarkable feat for the bulls as the day began with steeper selloffs in the technology sector as the traders moved into value stocks. The bulls managed to turn things around and pare losses to a certain extent before closing. All SPX500, NAS100, and US30 managed to close above its 10-day and 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA),

Meanwhile, the markets digested the first part of the testimony of U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman, Jerome Powell, in front of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. An overall dovish sentiment was picked up from his speech and Powell gave reassurances that rates will remain until ‘substantial progress’ has been made concerning its employment and inflation mandate. Powell also did not appear to be too anxious about ‘overheating’ in the market due to inflation. However, traders would also be paying close attention to the second part of his testimony for further clues.

Powell also did not appear to be overly concerned about rising Treasury yields. Similarly, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager has downgraded its stance on government bonds to shift its preference into equities given the progress of vaccination and a potential increase in U.S. fiscal spending. In a recent update, AstraZeneca vaccines have been found to reduce Covid-19 hospitalisation risk by an impressive 94%, according to results from a study in Scotland.

This week would also be an important one for the progress of the Biden stimulus package. The U.S. House of Representatives will be taking a vote this Friday, and the outcome would be critical to the tone of the risk sentiment.

Can the Wall Street bulls live to fight another day? Let’s keep an eye here.

FOLLOWME User Sentiment (as of Feb 24, 2021 at 12.30 p.m.)

SPX500

Short – 72.54%

Long – 27.56%

NAS100

Short – 56.30%                

Long – 43.70%

US30

Short – 77.76%

Long – 22.24%