Dow Jones futures dropped Thursday, as global markets continued eyeing developments along the Russia/Ukraine border and as U.S. investors digested weekly jobless claims data. Cisco Systems and Walmart climbed on earnings. Meanwhile, Applied Materials, Nvidia and DoorDash were also key earnings movers ahead of the market open.
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Among the Dow Jones leaders, Apple (AAPL) lost 0.6% and Microsoft (MSFT) traded down 0.65% in today’s stock market. American Express (AXP), a Dow Jones stock to watch, is barely in buy range after three straight days of gains.
Toymaker Hasbro (HAS) leapt more than 5%, trading high on the S&P 500, as activist investor Alta Fox Capital Management launched a proxy battle for five company board seats. Electric-vehicle leader Tesla (TSLA) skidded nearly 1% premarket Thursday, threatening to snap a three-day win streak.
Amid a volatile stock market rally, Northern Oil & Gas (NOG), Deere (DE), Stifel Financial (SF) and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH) are among Thursday’s top stocks to buy and watch. All four stocks are in or near new buy zones.
Microsoft and Tesla are IBD Leaderboard stocks. Northern Oil & Gas was Tuesday’s IBD 50 Stocks To Watch pick. Stifel was featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Wyndham was Tuesday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.
Dow Jones Today: Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Ahead of the stock market open Thursday, Dow Jones futures traded down 0.6% vs. fair value, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.75%. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.9% in morning trade. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) declined 0.9%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moved down 0.7% before Thursday’s open.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked down to around 2% Thursday morning. On Wednesday, the 10-year Treasury yield closed just below 2.05%. Gold rose and the dollar held largely steady as investors eyed the evolving situation on the Russia/Ukraine border.
Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices slid nearly 2% Thursday. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to just below $92 a barrel.
The Labor Department reported that first-time jobless claims rose to 248,000 from the prior week’s 223,000 claims. Estimates had called for a slight increase to 224,000.
Along the Russia/Ukraine border, Ukraine soldiers and Russia-backed separatists each reportedly accused the other of violating ceasefire rules, raising concerns that small-scale skirmishes could trigger broader military action. The Ukrainian military reported one village school was hit by 32 artillery rounds, according to the Washington Post.
At a NATO meeting in Brussels, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the reports of shelling troubling, and told reporters “we’ve said for some time that the Russians might do something like this in order to justify a military conflict, so we’ll be watching this very closely.”
Russia has deployed an estimated 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s border. Russia claimed over the past several days it had withdrawn some of those troops. U.S. officials say those claims are unconfirmed, and that Russia actually appears to be reinforcing troops in the area.
Meanwhile, the U.S. envoy to the U.N. said Russia is moving toward an “imminent” invasion of Ukraine.
Stock Market Rally Struggles
The stock market posted mixed action Wednesday, as the Dow Jones industrials and Nasdaq ended with modest losses. The S&P 500 eked out small gain. Amid the recent volatility, now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column.
Wednesday’s The Big Picture commented, “Indexes on Wednesday continued a pattern of wide price swings. It’s a good reason why IBD’s market outlook remains “uptrend under pressure.” It says investing in stocks right now needs to be limited and expectations should be tempered.”
If you’re new to IBD, consider taking a look at its stock trading system and CAN SLIM basics. Recognizing chart patterns is one key to the investment guidelines. IBD offers a broad range of growth stock lists, such as Leaderboard and SwingTrader.
Investors also can create watchlists, find companies nearing a buy point, or develop custom screens at IBD MarketSmith.
Four Dow Jones Stocks To Watch Now
Dow Jones Earnings: Cisco Systems, Walmart
Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported January-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates. CSCO stock rallied more than 3% in morning trade.
Walmart (WMT) reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and sales results, sparking a 3% rise in early trade.
Stock Market Earnings: Applied Materials, DoorDash, Nvidia
Applied Materials (AMAT), DoorDash (DASH) and Nvidia (NVDA) reported earnings late Wednesday.
AMAT shares gained more than 2% Thursday after the company topped expectations for its fiscal first quarter but missed estimates with its guidance.
DoorDash reported weak fourth-quarter earnings results but beat on revenue, and it came with a first-quarter outlook above expectations. DASH stock soared 25% premarket Thursday.
Nvidia beat Wall Street’s targets for its fourth quarter and also guided higher for the current quarter. But NVDA shares traded down more than 2% in early morning trade.
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: American Express
American Express broke out past what IBD MarketSmith chart analysis plotted as a cup base buy point at 189.13 and is still barely in the 5% buy range that tops out at 198.59. AXP stock traded slightly lower premarket Thursday.
Bullishly, the stock’s relative strength line is at new highs, indicating significant stock market outperformance.
Four Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: Northern, Deere, Wyndham, Stifel
Tuesday’s IBD 50 Stocks To Watch pick, Northern Oil & Gas, is about 5% away from a cup with handle’s 25.57 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. NOG shares were flat premarket Thursday.
Deere remains just above a cup-with-handle’s 388.20 buy point after Wednesday’s 0.7% fall. The 5% buy zone goes up to 407.61. DE shares were unchanged premarket Thursday.
Tuesday’s IBD Stock Of The Day, Wyndham Hotels, is trying to break out past a flat base’s 91.51 buy point, but was turned away Wednesday. WH shares traded flat premarket Thursday.
IBD Leaderboard stock Stifel Financial slipped back below its 78.70 buy point in a consolidation following Wednesday’s slight fall. Its RS line hit a new high last week. Stifel shares were unchanged premarket Thursday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock traded down nearly 1% Thursday morning, on pace to snap a three-day win streak. The stock remains above its long-term 200-day line, but is still sharply below the 50-day moving average. There is no proper entry in sight, as the stock continues to consolidate.
The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4, but ended Wednesday about 26% off that all-time high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple stock continues to consolidate at its 50-day line following Wednesday’s 0.1% fall. A new consolidation shows a buy point at 183.04, but a decisive move above last week’s high of 176.65 could be an early entry for aggressive investors. Apple shares declined 0.5% premarket Thursday.
Software leader Microsoft lost 0.3% Wednesday, as the top Dow Jones stock continues to find support around its long-term 200-day line. MSFT stock moved down 0.6% Thursday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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