Dow Jones futures rose on Thursday morning ahead of key economic data. Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures moved lower as Meta Platforms (META) fell 23% and Align Technology (ALGN) was down 19% on earnings results. Apple’s earnings are due after the market closes.
X
Meta reported third-quarter results late Wednesday that missed earnings estimates but slightly beat revenue. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.64 per share on revenue of $27.7 billion. Analysts had expected Meta to report earnings of $1.90 per share on revenue of $27.4 billion, according to FactSet. Shares are set to open around 101, which would be their lowest level since February 2016.
Align, the maker of Invisalign dental braces, reported a sharp shortfall in both its revenue and profit lines late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, US GDP (gross domestic product) and initial jobless claims are due out at 8:30 am ET. According to Econoday estimates, GDP is expected to increase 2.3% in the third quarter, from a 0.6% decline in the second quarter. Initial jobless claims are expected to rise to 223,000 from 214,000 last week.
Stock Market Today: Caterpillar, McDonald’s, Merck Earnings
The other major earners on Thursday were the Dow Jones stocks Caterpillar (CAT), McDonald’s (MCD) and Merck (MRK), including Ford Motor (F), MasterCard (MA), O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY), Service Today (NOW), Shopify (SHOP), Twitter (TWTR) and Wolfspeed (WOLF).
CAT stock jumped 5%, McDonald’s rallied nearly 3% and Merck climbed 2.1% in morning trade. Ford shares fell nearly 2%. Mastercard and Twitter were mixed up immediately after the results were released. Shares of O’Reilly rose around 2%. ServiceNow stock is up 14%. Shopify fell 3%, while WOLF stock fell 25% in early trading.
giant electric car Tesla (TSLA) traded up more than 1% Thursday morning, while Dow Jones tech leader Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) was both lower before the stock market opened today.
AutoZone (AZO), Cardinal Health (CAH), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) — as well as the Dow Jones stock UnitedHealth Group (UNH) — is among the top stocks to buy and watch. Remember that the new stock market rally is the perfect time for investors to practice their watchlists, and to hone their pyramiding technique.
Young rallies, especially those fighting bear markets, often fail. Pyramiding provides a means of moving into new stock positions gradually, to reduce capital risk.
Cardinal and Texas Roadhouse are IBD Leaderboard stocks. UnitedHealth is featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column, along with three other top stock ideas.
Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices
Before the opening bell on Thursday, Dow Jones futures rose 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures moved 0.1% lower. Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.7% in morning action, with Align and Meta trading at the bottom of the list.
Among exchange-traded funds, Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.65%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) dropped a fraction.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose higher to 4.07% Thursday morning, paring losses this week. On Monday, the 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.23%, settling at its highest level since June 2008 before falling over the next two sessions.
Meanwhile, US oil prices rose on Thursday, on pace to add to Wednesday’s gains. West Texas Intermediate futures traded above $88 a barrel.
The Stock Market Rally Continues
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crept higher and the S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite sold off more than 2%, as Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft are weighted in the tech-heavy index.
The Big Picture on Wednesday commented, “With just one session of pronounced institutional selling on the books, growth investors can continue to buy good breakouts. It makes sense to limit long exposure to both overall stock market and in top stocks in a range of 20% to 40% of a portfolio.”
Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column. Following Friday’s gains, investors will want to put their curated watch lists to work, to jump on future breakouts. But not all follow-throughs work, so it’s important to raise exposure slowly and methodically, while the new uptrend proves itself.
Check out IBD Stock Lists, like the IBD 50 and Stocks Near A Buy Zone, for stock ideas.
Five Dow Jones Stocks to Watch Today
Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch: UnitedHealth
Health care giant UnitedHealth is approaching the cup-with-handle’s 553.23 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. Shares rose 0.55% on Wednesday, just shy of the stock’s latest entry.
UNH stock was down Thursday morning.
4 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In Current Stock Market Rally
Top Stocks to Buy and Watch: AutoZone, Cardinal, Eli Lilly, Texas Roadhouse
Auto parts leader and recent IBD Stock Of The Day AutoZone is still in buy range above the 2,362.34 buy point cup base, despite falling 0.7% on Wednesday. The 5% chase zone reached 2,480.46. AutoZone shares traded up a fraction on Thursday.
IBD Leaderboard stock Cardinal Health is out of buy range after a brief cup-with-handle 71.22 entry, according to IBD MarketSmith’s chart analysis. Shares are also above the 72.38 flat base buy point. Earnings are due Nov. 4. CAH stock was down 0.2% early Thursday.
IBD SwingTrader stock Eli Lilly closed above its buy range above the flat base’s 335.43 buy point, up 1.9% Wednesday. Shares rose 0.6% Thursday morning, ahead of next Tuesday’s earnings report.
Texas Roadhouse moved further above the 95.52 buy point of a flat base during Wednesday’s 0.7% gain. The stock climbed 1.8% in premarket trade, ahead of the company’s earnings results late Thursday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze the top stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock advanced 1% on Wednesday, rising for a second straight session after hitting a 52-week low Monday. Despite its recent gains, the stock closed about 46% off its 52-week high.
Shares of the EV giant rose more than 1% Thursday morning.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares traded up 2% on Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak. Shares are running into resistance around their 50-day line, which is an important level to watch. Apple stock was down 01.2% ahead of the company’s earnings late Thursday.
The tech titan is expected to earn $1.27 per share on revenue of $88.7 billion.
Microsoft dived 7.7% on Wednesday after the company’s earnings results. Shares are still holding above their recent 52-week low, but ran into clear resistance at their 50-day line. The software giant is about 34% off its 52-week high. Microsoft shares lost 0.5% Thursday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
Top Growth Stocks to Buy and Watch
Learn How To Time The Market With IBD’s ETF Market Strategy
Find The Best Long-Term Investments With IBD Long-Term Leaders
MarketSmith: Research, Charts, Data and Instruction All in One Place
How to Research Growth Stocks: Why This IBD Tool Simplifies the Search for Top Stocks