Dow Jones futures rose slightly overnight, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
X
The stock market rose Wednesday after a personal consumption expenditures inflation report that was no worse than expected. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit all-time closing highs. The small-cap Russell 2000 briefly hit a 52-week high, extending its strong weekly gains.
Nvidia (NVDA) competition Advanced micro devices (AMD) broke out from a short consolidation. Airbnb (ANBB) And Lennar (flexible) Reclaimed purchase points.
After closing on Thursday Dell Technologies (Dale), NetApp (NTAP), Flexible (Estaq), Zscaler (ZS), FIFA systems (VEEV), autodesk (ADSC) And SoundHound AI (Suwon) mentioned.
Dell and NetApp shares were overnight earnings winners, with the latter poised to take off. Autodesk is also up late. But shares of ESTC and SoundHoud were sold off while Zscaler and Veeva fell.
Something to note: New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) late Thursday warned of “internal controls” issues and reported a fourth-quarter loss that was much worse than first disclosed. Chairman of the Board Alessandro Dinello will assume the position of CEO immediately, replacing Thomas Cangemi. NYCB stock fell after hours. In late January, the New York Commercial Bank collapsed after reporting a sudden loss and some credit concerns. This affected regional bank stocks, although they quickly stabilized.
Nvidia and Zscaler stock is on IBD Leaderboard And the Bahraini dinar 50. Nvidia stock exists IBD Big Cap 20. AMD was the IBD Stock of the Day on Wednesday.
Dow jones futures today
Dow Jones futures were 0.1% versus fair value. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%.
China's official manufacturing index fell 0.1 point in February to 49.1, in line with views and still below the neutral 50 level. China's Caixin manufacturing index rose 0.1 points to 50.9.
Remember, an overnight move in Dow Jones futures and elsewhere does not necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Profits
Dell's profits beat, as the tech giant cited strong demand for its AI servers. Shares of the computer and server maker rose in overnight trading. Dell shares extended a 10-week streak rebound last week.
Zscaler's earnings beat and the cybersecurity company advanced. ZS stock fell sharply in an extended move, suggesting a test of the 50-day/10-week line. Zscaler rose 1.9% to 241.87 in the regular session on Thursday.
Resilient earnings topped while guidance was in line. ESTC stock fell overnight, indicating a move to or below the 50-day line and a previous buy point. Shares rose 3.2% on Thursday to 133.81, surpassing a narrow three-week entry level of 133.59, modestly above the previous area and after a 10-week linear rebound. This provided entry into resilient stocks, but the earnings report raised risks.
Veeva's earnings rose, but VEEV shares fell modestly in extended trade. The life sciences software maker rose 14 cents to 255.51 on Thursday, near a five-month consolidation high. However, Veeva stock is at the top of a buy zone from the 214.54 level that was settled earlier this month.
Autodesk beat Q4 views, but led slightly lower in Q1 and fiscal 2025 revenue. However, ADSK stock jumped overnight. Shares rose 1.1% to 258.17 on Thursday, finding support at the 21-day line. Autodesk stock remains in the line's 10-week test range last week, the second such test since the late 2023 breakout.
NetApp's earnings were better than expected. NTAP stock rose in late trading, indicating a gap off the flat base, and a fundamental formation on the base. The storage giant follows strong results from Pure storage (PSTG) And Nutanix (NTNX) Wednesday night.
SoundHound AI reported a larger-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter as revenue declined. SOUN shares fell in late trading. But SoundHound stock rose 347% in February, most of that after Nvidia disclosed the SOUN stake.
Stock market pool
The stock market rally got off to a strong start on Thursday as investors initially cheered the personal consumption expenditures inflation report. The major indexes quickly pared their gains, but then rebounded again.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% in stock market trading Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, an all-time closing high. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%, its first record close since 2021 and back above 16,000. The Russell 2000 small-cap index rose 0.7%, pulling back after briefly surpassing its late-December peak and hitting a new 22-month best.
For the major indices, a longer pause would be healthy, allowing the major indices to catch up and more stocks to form bases, handles, or upward pullbacks. The Nasdaq's sideways movement over the past week, and more broadly since February 12, has helped in this regard. But it's good to see penny stocks breaking out of their current range.
Ideally, the market pauses for a few days or two weeks, and then moves higher, with small caps in front. But the market will do what it does.
The Nasdaq is 4.8% above its 50-day line, not quite extended but very close to it again.
While AI and technology stocks continue to lead the rally, with AMD's standout performance on Thursday, a variety of stocks and groups are participating.
US crude oil prices fell 0.4% to $78.26 per barrel, rising 3.2% during the month.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell 2 basis points to 4.25%, but jumped 29 basis points in February.
ETFs
Among the growth ETFs is the iShares Expanded Technology Software Sector ETF (IGV) rose 0.8%. Elastic Stock, Zscaler, and Autodesk are members of the IGV. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (Trait) jumped 2.2%. AMD is one of SMH's major holding companies, with Nvidia No. 1.
Reflecting more speculative stocks, the ARK Innovation ETF (Ark(0.2% and ARK Genomics ETF)Arkj) and decreased by 2.4%.
SPDR S&P Metals and Mining Fund (XME) by 1.8% and the Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF (cradle) by 0.8%. US Global Jets ETF (Planes) rose by 0.25%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) rose 0.8%, with Lennar stock at XHB. Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE(Up 0.5% and the Healthcare Sector SPDR Fund)Forty-fifth) decreased by 0.8%.
Selected Industrial Sector SPDR Fund (forty-first) by 0.3%. Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) lost fraction.
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Stocks are in buy zones
AMD stock rose 9% to 192.50 on above-average trading volume to a new high. The AI chips game made it through the short consolidation process that wasn't long enough to have a flat base. But investors could have used 184.92 as a legitimate buy point. The buy zone extends to 194.17.
The relative strength line has reached a new high, which is a bullish confirmation of the breakout. The RS line, the blue line in the charts provided, tracks a stock's performance against the S&P 500 Index.
AMD stock rose slightly overnight, perhaps due to Dell's upbeat comments on AI servers, indicating strong demand for AI chips.
For its part, Nvidia stock rose 1.9% to 791.12 on Thursday, still facing resistance at the 800 level.
Airbnb stock rose 2.6% to 157.43, back above the buy point of 154.95, according to a MarketSmith analysis. The room booking site has some wild movement on the daily chart, but shows a little less churn on the weekly chart. There is an argument that investors should use the 10-week or 21-day line to initiate a trade, giving Airbnb up-and-down movement.
Lennar stock rose 3% to 158.35, surpassing a flat buy point of 156.01. Homebuilder stock prices rose on February 12, but fell after hot inflation reports pushed Treasury yields and mortgage interest rates higher. But LEN stock found support at the 50-day line and quickly rose again.
What are you doing now
The market rally continues to work well. The Nasdaq is not extended while small stocks are testing significant resistance.
Investors can choose to make some additional purchases, but sticking with existing exposure is solid.
Make sure you have your watchlists ready. With the Nasdaq little changed since February 12 and the Russell 2000 at its highs in late 2023, a number of high-quality stocks have been created, and not just in technology. The work you do outside of market hours – running monitors, analyzing charts, reviewing past trades and more – is crucial to successful trading.
Having your targets ready and reacting means you can make quick but informed decisions when stocks flash buy signals, rather than relying on rash or late trades.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay on top of the market trend and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on topics at @edcarson1971 And X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson For stock market updates and more.
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