The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Thursday morning after a surprise fall in the Labor Department’s first-jobless claims and first-quarter GDP data. Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (META) rallied 14% on earnings, as leading AI stock Mobileye (MBLY) plunged as much as 30% after cutting its full-year outlook. And Amazon (AMZN) reports after the close.
On the economic front, weekly initial jobless claims fell to 230,000. They were expected to rise to 249,000 vs. 245,000 in the previous week. Meanwhile, first-quarter GDP slowed to 1.1%, below expectations for a slow to a 2% annualized growth rate, vs. fourth-quarter growth of 2.6%.
Meta stock surged 14% Thursday morning after easily beating Wall Street’s first-quarter projections and issuing bullish sales guidance.
Artificial intelligence stock Mobileye crashed as much as 30% after cutting its full-year outlook, citing issues with the China market.
Other key earnings movers include Align Technology (ALGN), Caterpillar (CAT), Impinj (PI), Merck (MRK), Roku (ROKU) and ServiceNow (NOW).
Align shares tumbled more than 8% despite a better-than-expected earnings and sales estimates during the first quarter, while CAT stock slid nearly 5% in morning trade.
Hot chip stock Impinj missed Wall Street’s target for earnings but beat estimates for sales in the first quarter. The company also offered an outlook that was well below views for the current period. Impinj stock crumbled 30% in early trade.
Dow Jones drug giant Merck climbed 1% after a first-quarter earnings beat. Roku beat forecasts for its first quarter as it added more viewers than expected. ROKU stock slid nearly 4%.
ServiceNow shares lost more than 5% even after the company reported first-quarter earnings that handily topped views, while revenue edged past analyst estimates.
Stock Market Today
Electric-vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) traded up more than 1% Thursday morning. Dow Jones tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were higher after today’s stock market open.
Crocs (CROX), InMode (INMD), IBD Leaderboard stock Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Lululemon Athletica (LULU) — as well as Dow Jones stocks JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Nike (NKE) and Visa (V) — are among the top stocks to watch in the now-struggling stock market rally.
Nike was featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. InMode was a recent IBD Stock Of The Day.
Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields
After Thursday’s opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.9% as the uptrend seeks a foothold after coming under pressure early this week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 1.2% in morning action, with Meta stock leading the index.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) moved up 0.9%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) traded up 0.6% early Thursday.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield on Thursday traded up to 3.49%. The 10-year yield is still set for sharp losses this week, though it is still squarely off its early April lows.
U.S. oil prices moved modestly higher Thursday morning, following a big drop on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate futures remain below $75 a barrel, pulled back from an April 12 high above $83 a barrel and trading near what has been their mean so far this year.
Stock Market Rally Struggles
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.7%, with Home Depot (HD) among the big losers. HD stock tumbled 2.8%, closing 17% off its 52-week high.
The S&P 500 lost 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.5%, buoyed by Microsoft’s 7.2% surge on earnings. The market status shifted on Tuesday from “confirmed uptrend” to “uptrend under pressure,” suggesting investors take a more cautious stance.
Wednesday’s Big Picture column cautioned, “First-quarter earnings have soothed Big Tech so far, but regional banks — led by First Republic Bank (FRC) — look scary despite Wednesday’s small upside. The SPDR Regional Bank ETF (KRE) hit a low of more than two years early, warning that financial contagion fears are still growing.”
Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column with the stock market now struggling to maintain its uptrend.
