The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes rose Wednesday as investors reacted to a dovish inflation report that provides further guidance on interest rates. Meanwhile, meme stocks GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) cooled off in the stock market today after two straight sessions of huge gains.
X
In morning action, the Dow Jones Industrial Average pared gains to 0.4% after briefly rising more than 200 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the tech-focused Nasdaq composite climbed 0.2% after the opening bell.
Early Wednesday, the yield on ten-year government bonds fell to 4.36%. Further, oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate futures trading around $77.75 per barrel.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) rose 0.2%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 0.3%.
Shares of GameStop fell 25% Wednesday morning, pausing after this week’s 179% surge through Tuesday. Meanwhile, AMC stock fell 18% in early trading.
Stock Market Today: CPI Inflation Report
On Wednesday, the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 0.3% this month, with an annual increase of 3.4%, in line with Econoday estimates. Core CPI rose 0.3%, up 3.6% year-on-year. These figures, excluding food and energy, also met estimates.
Further, the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales were unchanged in April, below the 0.4% growth estimate. Excluding vehicles, sales rose 0.2%, in line with Econoday estimates. And sales excluding vehicles and gasoline fell 0.1%, below the 0.1% estimate.
On the markets including Wednesday morning’s key earnings gains Boat shed (BOOT), monday.com (MNDY) and Nextracker (NXT).
Boot Barn shares fell 3.8% in the early stages, while shares of Monday.com rose 22%. And shares of Nextracker rose 12% in morning trading.
Be sure to learn how to adapt to changing market conditions, with IBD’s new exposure levels.
Dow Jones rises
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.8%.
Investor’s Business Daily’s Big Picture column said Tuesday: “IBD’s current recommended allocation remains at 40% to 60%. The rally attempt still looks good even if there was no 2% gain for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 on April 26 and May 3 meet the qualification for follow-up days due to slightly lower volume.”
During Tuesday’s IBD Live show, the IBD Live team discussed current trading conditions. The team covered a wide range of stocks, but focused on these sectors: gold and silver mining, chips, aerospace and defense, power generation, and restaurants.
This is an important time to read The Big Picture column amid the continued action in the stock market. Also learn how to adapt to changing market conditions, with IBD’s new exposure levels.
Learn how to time the stock market with IBD’s ETF market strategy
Stock market today: the best stocks to watch
NetApp (NTAP), PDD (PDD), Taiwanese semiconductor production (TSM) and Tradeweb Markets (TW) – plus Dow Jones components JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Merck (MRK) – are among the best companies to watch in the stock market today.
JPMorgan and Taiwan Semi are listed in this Stocks Near a Buy Zone column.
An essential resource for everyday breakouts is IBD MarketSurge’s “Breaking Out Today” list. It shows MarketSurge Growth 250 stocks breaking past new buy points. Remarkable, Pure storage (PSTG) broke past a 148.43 buy point in a double bottom. Meanwhile, the MarketSurge “Near Pivot” list shows stocks that are near buy points in fundamentals.
For more stock ideas, check out IBD stock lists such as IBD 50, Big Cap 20, and Stocks Near a Buy Zone. These features identify bullish patterns and buy points and can be checked every day.
Get real-time buy and sell alerts on stock market leaders with the IBD Leaderboards
Dow Jones: JPMorgan, Merck
JPMorgan breaks past the 200.94 position on a flat base, after strong gains in recent weeks. Shares traded down 0.5% on the stock market today.
Meanwhile, drug giant Merck is building a flat base with an entry of 133.10. Merck shares rose 0.3% on Wednesday.
4 top growth stocks to watch Fair today
Outside the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NetApp is trading just above a 108.82 buy point in a double bottom, according to IBD MarketSurge. NetApp shares rose 0.8% after the open on Wednesday.
Temu parent PDD is just below the 142.32 buy point for a cup-with-handle, following Tuesday’s 1.3% decline. Shares rose 0.9% on Wednesday.
Chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor is in buy range above a 148.43 buy point in a double-bottom base in the wake of Friday’s strong monthly sales results. The stock rose 0.8% on Wednesday.
Tradeweb is clearly in its buy range beyond the 108.04 buy point on a flat basis, up 1.4% Tuesday. The stock rose 0.5% on Wednesday.
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Stock market today: companies to watch
These are four stocks in or near buy zones in today’s stock market.
Company Name | Symbol | Correct purchase point | Purchase point type |
---|---|---|---|
American Express | (AXP) | 231.69 | Consolidation |
Texas Roadhouse | (TXRH) | 157.12 | Flat base |
Chipotle | (CMG) | 3,023.98 | Consolidation |
Tradeweb Markets | (TW) | 108.04 | Flat base |
Source: IBD data as of May 6, 2024
Join IBD experts as they analyze the top stocks in the stock market today on IBD Live
Beautiful seven stocks: Nvidia, Tesla
Among the Magnificent Seven shares, Nvidia (NVDA) rose 1.5%, while Tesla (TSLA) fell 2.1% Wednesday morning.
Nvidia shares rose further above their 50-day moving average on Tuesday, approaching an entry at 922.20. The leader in artificial intelligence is an IBD Leaderboard stock.
Shares of Tesla rose 3.3% on Tuesday, regaining their 50-day line after last week’s losses.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among the Dow Jones stocks in the Magnificent Seven, Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) traded higher after Wednesday’s stock market open.
Apple shares closed 0.6% higher on Tuesday, closing at the highest level since February 9. The shares are back above their 200-day moving average, forming the right side of a new base. The stock gained 0.3% on Wednesday morning.
Microsoft shares rose 0.7% on Tuesday, regaining their 50-day line. The software giant is building a flat base with a 430.82 buy point and the 50-day line will be a major hurdle. And Microsoft shares added 0.5% on Wednesday.
Make sure you follow Scott Lehtonen on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_SLehtonen to learn more about growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the current stock market.
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