After a slew of economic data, Dow Jones futures fell while Nasdaq futures rallied Thursday amid positive signs for two major chipmakers. Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) surged in the premarket following the earnings announcement, while Nvidia stock appeared to be hitting new record highs.
X
Before the opening bell, Dow Jones futures fell 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%. Tech-heavy futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8% in premarket trading.
Among us exchange traded fundsthe Nasdaq 100 Invesco QQQ Trust tracker (QQQ) is up 0.9%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (TO SPY) increased by 0.4%.
Additionally, oil prices took a breather Thursday morning following Wednesday’s gains, as West Texas Intermediate futures edged lower. WTI futures were trading around $72.50 per barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.09% Thursday morning. The 10-year had climbed to 4.1% on Wednesday, extending a winning streak to three sessions.
Unemployment registrations, more income
Three economic announcements were released Thursday morning. First there were the first unemployment registrations from the Ministry of Labor. Claims surprisingly fell to 187,000. They are expected to rise to 206,000 compared to 202,000 the previous week.
Construction starts and permits from the Department of Commerce came next. In December, housing starts fell to 1.46 million from 1.56 million in November. And permits reached 1.495 million in December compared to 1.46 million in November.
Furthermore, the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index fell to -10.6 in January. The figure improved slightly to -6.7 from December’s figure of -10.5.
The main drivers of earnings Thursday morning came from the results of Alcoa (AA), Attached (FAST), KeyCorp (KEY), M&T Bank (Mountain biking) and Taiwan Semiconductor.
Alcoa stock fell 1.4%, while FAST stock rose 3.3% in early trading. KeyCorp shares fell 2.5% and MTB shares rose 1.6% in premarket trading.
Taiwan Semiconductor jumped nearly 8% after exceeding earnings estimates and saying it expects to return to sales growth in the first quarter. For the first quarter, TSMC expects revenue between $18 billion and $18.8 billion. The midpoint of $18.4 billion exceeded Wall Street’s target of $18.27 billion. In the first quarter of last year, TSMC generated revenue of $16.62 billion.
Dow Jones Falls
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6%, extending Tuesday’s losses.
Wednesday Big Picture Column commented: “The Nasdaq, however, also revealed a resilient character. Down as much as 1.6% around 10 a.m. ET, the composite index struggled back throughout the session to pare that loss to just under 0.6%. The Nasdaq also closed at the high of its intraday range. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 pared its initial loss of 1.1% to less than 0.6% by the end of the day.
Now is an important time to read Chronicle The Big Picture by MII amid the continuing stock market rally. Be sure to read how to adapt to changing market conditions, with New levels of IBD exposure.
Learn to Time the Stock Market with IBD’s ETF Market Strategy
Best Stocks to Buy and Watch
Magnificent seven player Amazon (AMZN), with Free market (MELI), Netflix (NFLX), Novo Nordisk (NGO) And Spotify (PLACE) — plus Dow Jones components American Express (AXP), Amgen (AMGN) And Merck (MRK) – are among the best stocks to buy and watch in the current market rally.
MercadoLibre and Spotify were featured in this Column Stocks close to a buying zone.
Receive real-time buy and sell alerts on stock market leaders with IBD Leaderboard
Dow Jones: American Express in buy range
Credit card leader American Express is falling back into buy range past a 175.31 buy point in a cup with handle. AXP stock fell 0.4% Thursday morning.
Biotech leader Amgen rose 0.2% on Wednesday, staying outside the 5% buying range beyond an official 288.46 buy point on a flat basis. The 5% buy zone rose to 302.88. AMGN stock was down 0.5% early Thursday.
Drugmaker Merck is trying to break above the 119.65 buy point of a cup base, according to IBD MarketSmith Pattern Recognition. MRK stock rose 0.4% on Thursday.
4 Most Important Growth Stocks to Watch in the Stock market rally
Spotify explodes
IBD Ranking Stocks Amazon is back in buying range beyond the 145.86 cup base buy point, down 0.95% on Wednesday, according to IBD Market. AMZN stock rose 0.9% Thursday morning.
MercadoLibre attempts to break above the 1,660 buy point on a flat base, but the breakout failed on Wednesday, falling 2.2%. MELI stock gained 1.4% early Thursday.
Netflix fell slightly on Wednesday, just below a 482.70 buy point in a cup with handle. NFLX stock rose 0.6% on Thursday.
Weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk ended higher on Wednesday, still holding above a flat base buy point of 105.69. NVO stock was flat early Thursday.
IBD SwingTrader Stocks Spotify closed Wednesday below a buy trigger of 202.88 on a flat basis, with a loss of 2.3%. SPOT stock rose 1% Thursday morning.
Best Bets in Today’s Action
These are the four best stocks to watch in today’s stock market, including a Dow Jones leader.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct purchase point | Point of purchase type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | (NGO) | 105.69 | Flat base |
| American Express | (AXP) | 175.31 | Cup with handle |
| Netflix | (NFLX) | 482.70 | Cup with handle |
| Spotify | (PLACE) | 202.88 | Flat base |
Source: MII data as of January 18, 2024
Join IBD experts as they analyze the top stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Seven Magnificent Stocks: Nvidia, Tesla
Seven magnificent actions Nvidia (NVDA) And You’re here (TSLA) are trading up 2.1% and 1.1%, respectively, in premarket trading Thursday.
Nvidia fell 0.6% on Wednesday, moving away from Tuesday’s record highs. But stocks are expected to hit new record highs Thursday morning. The stock has already surpassed the 505.48 buy point on a flat base. Nvidia is also a MII classification action
Tesla Stock skidded 2% on Wednesday, closing at its lowest level since November 10. Tesla stock is significantly below its 50 and 200 day moving averages.
Dow Jones leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones Stocks in the Magnificent Seven, Apple (AAPL) And Microsoft (MSFT) is trading higher before the stock market opens on Thursday.
Apple stock fell 0.5% on Wednesday, still maintaining support around its 200-day line. Still, AAPL is significantly below the 192.93 buy point and the 50-day line. Shares rose 2.2% early Thursday.
Microsoft stock fell 0.2% on Wednesday, ending a six-day winning streak. Shares are in a buy range above the 384.30 buy point on a flat base. MSFT was a recent IBD headline of the day. And the software giant was up 0.8% Thursday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_SLehtonen to learn more about growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Top Growth Stocks to Buy and Watch
Learn to Time the Market with IBD’s ETF Market Strategy
Find the best long-term investments from IBD Long-Term Leaders
Nvidia, Tesla and Meta reveal the rules of the Santa Rally and beyond
Spot Buy Points and Sell Signals with MarketSmith Pattern Recognition
