Dow Jones futures eased for a second day early Thursday, as the market moved to open the final trading session of the first quarter on a mixed note. Oil prices tumbled on reports that the Biden administration planned a significant release of U.S. oil reserves. The 10-year Treasury yield extended Wednesday’s losses.
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Among Dow Jones stocks, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) reported better-than-expected earnings ahead of the market open, sending WBA shares down around 1% early. Apple (AAPL) inched higher Thursday morning and is buy range past a buy point. Microsoft (MSFT) moved up 0.3% in today’s stock market. UnitedHealth (UNH), a Dow Jones stock to watch, continues to make progress in the wake of a recent breakout.
Outside of the Dow Jones 30, chip leader Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) declined more than 2% after Barclays downgraded the stock from overweight to equal-weight. EV giant Tesla (TSLA) climbed 0.3% early Thursday, on pace to rebound after Wednesday’s modest decline.
Amid the stock market’s uptrend, IBD Leaderboard stock Arista Networks (ANET), Broadcom (AVGO), CVS Health (CVS), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) are among Thursday’s top stocks to buy and watch.
Arista, Microsoft and Tesla are IBD Leaderboard stocks. Apple and Regeneron were featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices
With the Dow industrials down a bit more than 3% so far for the year, Dow Jones futures head into the final session of the quarter trading 0.1% lower vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures traded essentially unchanged. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.25% vs. fair value. Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.25%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was up 0.1% before Thursday’s open.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ticked down to 2.32% Thursday following Wednesday ‘s close at 2.35%.
U.S. oil prices retreated Thursday morning after a modest bounce on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled more than 5% to trade below $102 a barrel. According to reports, the Biden administration is considering a plan to release roughly one million barrels of Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil a day for several months with a total release up to 180 million barrels.
Dow Jones energy giant and IBD Big Cap 20 stock Chevron (CVX) slid around 2% early Thursday.
Stock Market Rally
The stock market posted mostly weak results Wednesday, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq sold off 1.2%. For more daily stock market commentary, check out IBD’s The Big Picture column.
Wednesday’s The Big Picture column commented, “The Nasdaq fared worst as tech stocks were punished. It ended the day down 1.2%, which means the index may be stalling just before staging an assault on its 200-day moving average. It remains above its 50-day and short-term moving averages, though.”
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 Stocks To Buy And Watch: UnitedHealth
Managed care giant UnitedHealth shows a 500.10 buy point with a handle entry on a double-bottom base. Shares are moving higher in the buy range above that entry after Wednesday’s 2% gain. UNH shares inched lower early Thursday.
Bullishly, the stock’s relative strength line is perking up again after pulling back from new highs in recent sessions, indicating significant stock market outperformance.
Four Top Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: Arista, Broadcom, CVS, Regeneron, Vertex
IBD SwingTrader stock Arista Networks is in a buy range above a double bottom’s 133.97 buy point. Shares fell 1.85% Wednesday, according to IBD MarketSmith charts. The stock was unchanged early Thursday.
Chip giant Broadcom slid 1.6% Wednesday, but still holding above an early entry at 614.74. Shares continue to rally up the right side of a new cup base. The cup base’s proper buy point is 677.86. AVGO shares were flat Thursday morning.
Recent IBD Stock Of The Day CVS Health now shows a cup with handle with a 109.79 buy point. CVS stock gave up its 50-day line Tuesday and fell further below it during Wednesday’s 1.1% fall. CVS shares were down 0.5% Thursday morning.
Biotech leader Regeneron Pharmaceuticals remains in buy range above a 673.96 flat-base entry in the wake of a March 16 breakout move. REGN shares tested the buy point on March 23 before regaining the buy point on March 24. The 5% buy zone tops out at 707.66. The stock was flat early Thursday.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals moved higher in its buy range Thursday morning, rising 2% after the company’s clinical trial results. The 5% buy area above a 255.03 cup-base entry tops out at 267.78.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock rallied 0.3% early Thursday, on pace to recover from Wednesday’s 0.5% drop. Shares are approaching a cup base’s 1,208.10 buy point. Be on the lookout for a potential handle to offer a more risk-optimal entry.
The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4. and ended Wednesday just 12% off that all-time high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares lost 0.7% Wednesday, finally snapping an 11-day win streak and closing in the buy range past a double bottom’s 176.75 buy point. The 5% buy area goes up to 185.59. AAPL stock inched higher early Thursday.
Software leader Microsoft dropped 0.5% Wednesday , as shares continue to move up the right side of a new base formation. Microsoft shares rose 0.2% 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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