Dow Jones futures were little changed overnight, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. FedEx (FDX), Lululemon Athletica (LULU) and Dow giant Nike (NKE) reported after the close.
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The stock market rally pared gains after the major indexes hit record highs Thursday morning. Micron Technology (MU) and Broadcom (AVGO) led AI chip names higher, including Nvidia (NVDA). Microsoft (MSFT) hit a record high following its AI event.
On the downside, the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit vs. Apple (AAPL) over the iPhone. Apple stock fell solidly, weighing on the major indexes.
CyberArk Software (CYBR) flashed a buy signal, but a number of non-tech names stood out.
Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) and On Holding (ONON) broke out. Goldman Sachs (GS) broke out decisively from a trading range. Meanwhile, Blue Owl (OWL), Ares Management (ARES), Blackstone (BX), BlackRock (BLK), Apollo Global Management (APO) and KKR (KKR) — all part of the Finance-Investment Management group — made bullish moves.
Along with Microsoft, that’s 11 stocks in buy areas.
Apollo Global stock, KKR, Neurocrine Biosciences and Nvidia are on IBD Leaderboard, with CyberArk stock on the Leaderboard watchlist. Neurocrine stock, Ares and Apollo Global are on SwingTrader. Microsoft stock is on IBD Long-Term Leaders. Nvidia stock, Ares, Owl Capital and KKR are on the IBD 50. Broadcom stock and Nvidia are on the IBD Big Cap 20 list. Owl Capital was Thursday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures edged higher vs. fair value, with Nike stock a blue-chip component. S&P 500 futures rose a fraction and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Earnings
FedEx earnings topped while guidance was strong, offsetting a narrow miss for revenue. FDX stock surged overnight, signaling a possible breakout. Shares rose 1.9% to 264.85 in Thursday’s regular session. FedEx is working up the right side of a three-month consolidation with a 285.53 buy point.
Lululemon earnings topped views but the yoga apparel retailer guided low. LULU stock sold off in extended trade. Shares advanced 2.1% to 478.84 on Thursday, decisively clearing the 50-day line and moving above some short-term levels. That could have offered an early entry, if it weren’t for the earnings report. Lululemon stock has a 516.39 official buy point from a flat base.
Nike earnings easily beat. NKE stock rose solidly initially overnight, but turned decidedly lower on the analyst call. Shares edged up 0.55% to 100.82 on Thursday, but are still below their 50-day and 200-day lines. But Nike results and outlook are relevant for Deckers Outdoor (DECK) and On Holding.
On Thursday, Deckers stock jumped 4.1%, hitting a record high but extended. ONON stock climbed 2.5% to 35.61 on Thursday, just clearing a 35.58 cup-with handle base buy point following a huge plunge and recovery last week after earnings.
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally saw record highs on all the major indexes, though they pared gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% in Thursday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.3%, with Micron and AVGO stock the top performers. The Nasdaq composite closed up just 0.2%.
Apple stock fell 4.1% after the DOJ filed its antitrust suit, alleging the tech titan is abusing its iPhone dominance. AAPL stock is still above recent lows, but its relative strength line has tumbled to the worst level since late 2021, reflecting huge underperformance vs. the S&P 500 in recent weeks.
Fellow big-cap laggards Tesla (TSLA) and Adobe (ADBE) retreated slightly.
Even so, a number of growth stocks slashed or erased gains.
The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 1.1% to a 23-month closing high, following Wednesday’s 1.9% jump.
The market rally is showing overall breadth and broad-based leadership, with a number of stocks from a variety of sectors flashing buy signals.
However, the S&P 500 is 4.9% above its 50-day line, with the Nasdaq 4.2%. Those are almost at the 5%-6% level that would be slightly extended. So far this S&P 500 and Nasdaq have only had brief, modest pullbacks to the 21-day line, if that. But at some point the market rally will have a bigger retreat or longer pause.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 0.25% to $81.07 a barrel, a second straight decline after hitting 2024 highs.
The 10-year Treasury yield was flat at 4.27%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) rose 0.7%. Microsoft stock is a huge IGV holding.
The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) popped 2.3%. VanEck component Micron stock soared 14.1% on strong earnings and guidance. Broadcom leapt 5.6% as analysts hailed Wednesday’s AI event. Nvidia stock, by far the biggest SMH holding, climbed 1.2%, continuing a strong weekly gain following its big AI announcements Monday.
Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) rose 0.6% and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) dipped 0.1%. Tesla stock is a major holding across Ark Invest’s ETFs.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) rose 1.2% and The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) climbed 0.6%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) edged up 0.1%.
The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) gained 2.4%, the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) 1.4%, the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) 1% and the Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) added 0.8%, all setting record highs. Goldman stock is a top-10 XLF holding.
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Stocks In Buy Areas
CyberArk stock gained 1.7% to 270.12, clearing most of the resistance within an emerging consolidation and decisively breaking a tight trendline. But it did come off highs. Shares have rebounded powerfully from the 10-week line this week, but in light volume. CYBR stock is on track to have a new base after Friday with a 283 buy point.
Neurocrine Bio stock rallied as high as 148.37, but closed up just 2.2% to 143.74. But that cleared a 143.35 flat-base buy point in huge volume, according to MarketSurge. Earlier, NBIX stock topped a short-term high of 142.50.
Goldman stock leapt 4.35% to 413.71, nearing an all-time high from late 2021. It’s now slightly extended from a consolidation buy point of 389.58 that it’s been trading around for the past several months. Shares had bounced 2% on Wednesday, setting a two-year closing high. GS stock is still in range of a four-weeks-tight entry of 397.49.
Blue Owl stock popped 3.7% to 18.61, clearing a short flat base with an 18.33 buy point after rebounding from the 10-week line earlier this week.
Ares stock rose 2.3% to 136.58, also extending a 10-week line bounce. Shares are actionable from that move and breaking a trendline, as well as a short-term high of 137.47. It has an official flat-base buy point of 139.48.
Blackstone stock climbed 3.05% to 131.66, topping a 131.29 cup-with-handle buy point. Shares rose more than 3% on Wednesday, bouncing from the 50-day line.
BlackRock stock added 3% to 842.06, back above an 819 flat-base buy point after rebounding from the 50-day line on Wednesday. The asset management giant is partially a bitcoin play, with its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) a big winner among new spot bitcoin ETFs for fund inflows.
Apollo Global stock climbed 1.7% to 114.53, briefly topping a short consolidation that wasn’t quite long enough to be a flat base. Shares have rebounded recently from near the 10-week line.
KKR rose 3.1% to 101.64, a record high and extending a 10-week line bounce.
Microsoft Stock
Microsoft held its “New Era of Work” event, showing off a lot of AI tools and features, including its first Surface AI PCs.
MSFT stock rose 1% to 429.37, hitting a fresh high. Shares are still in range of a 420.82 buy point from a short consolidation, as well as from the 50-day line.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally is looking great following the Fed meeting and other events that turned out to be positive. A relatively large number of stocks have flashed buy signals recently, offering chances to add exposure.
With the S&P 500 slightly extended and sentiment high, investors shouldn’t get too aggressive in ramping up exposure. A few more names are setting up, though.
That’s why it’s important to have your watchlists up to date, so you can pounce on buying opportunities quickly.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
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