The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw early gains fade while Verizon Communications (VZ) tumbled. Elon Musk spoke out as more Tesla (TSLA) price cuts emerged. Nvidia (NVDA) and Amazon.com (AMZN) made gains on the stock market today as bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (RIOT) spiked following a bullish Wall Street call.
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Church & Dwight (CHD) climbed above the 105.67 buy point of a flat base. But volume was not impressive and market risk is high for any stock purchases.
Meanwhile, a trio of stocks were holding steady near buy points despite negative pressure: Heico (HEI), Cactus (WHD) and Republic Services (RSG).
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Pop Loses Steam
Stocks were up Monday after some geopolitical fears eased over the weekend. The House of Representatives passed foreign aid packages for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine. The Senate is expected to approve the moves this week.
The Nasdaq composite saw early gains fade as it rose 0.3%. PDD (PDD) was shining as it rose nearly 5%. Latin American payments stock MercadoLibre (MELI) lagged as it fell around 2%, worsening its two-month downtrend.
The benchmark S&P 500 is on track to snap a six-day decline as it rose 0.3%. Auto stock Ford Motor (F) outperformed as it rose around 5% and moved back above its 50-day moving average, MarketSurge analysis shows.
The S&P 500 sectors were mixed. Technology and financial services were making the best gains. Consumer discretionary and materials were lagging the most on the stock market today.
Small caps were steady, with the Russell 2000 up 0.2%. Growth stocks popped, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) roughly flat after backing off session highs.
Dow Jones Today: Salesforce Deal Collapses, Verizon Reverses
The Dow Jones followed the other major indexes in seeing early gains fade. Nevertheless, it remained up more than 30 points, or 0.1%.
Procter & Gamble (PG) and Goldman Sachs (GS) were faring best on the much-watched index as each rose more than 1%.
Salesforce (CRM) saw some early gains fade but remained up 0.5% . It was in the green after The Wall Street Journal reported it has backed away from a move to acquire software provider Informatica (INFA). Informatica flashed a sell signal as it dived below its 50-day moving average amid a plunge of around 9%.
Verizon Communications (VZ) was lagging most on the Dow Jones today. It fell more than 4% despite an earnings beat. Revenue came in slightly below expectations.
Elon Musk Defends Tesla Price Cuts
Tesla stock was taking a tumble after the company cut EV prices in the U.S., China and Europe, as well as slashing the price for its Full Self-Driving feature.
However the firm’s Chief Executive Elon Musk took to his social media platform, X, to explain that prices “must change frequently in order to match production with demand.”
“Other cars change prices constantly and often by wide margins via dealer markups and manufacturer/dealer incentives,” Musk said. “Only a fool thinks the ‘MSRP’ (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) is the real price.”
The stock was down more than 4% and lost more ground on its 50-day moving average, according to MarketSurge.
Its relative strength line undercut its January 2023 low and sits at its lowest level since May 2020. Tesla stock is down more than 43% since the start of the year. Tesla earnings are due Tuesday.
Magnificent 7: Nvidia Stock Pops
The so-called Magnificent Seven were mixed following last week’s painful drawdown.
Nvidia (NVDA) was faring best as it bounced nearly 3%. Nevertheless, the AI play remains stuck below its 50-day line.
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) was the next best performer as it rose nearly 1%. Amazon stock and Apple (AAPL) were also making gains, rising less than 1%.
Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT), which both report earnings later this week, gave up early gains.
Stock Market Today: Bitcoin Miner Riot Pops On Call
Riot Platforms soared more than 105% on the stock market today after it was the subject of a bullish Wall Street call. The bitcoin miner was given a boost after JPMorgan Chase reiterated its overweight rating following Riot’s recent analyst day.
Its stock surged despite the bitcoin cryptocurrency recently undergoing its fourth-ever halving event. This caused the reward for mining bitcoin to fall to a block reward of 3.125 bitcoin.
Despite Riot stock rising sharply, it remains rooted below it 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Bitcoin was up 1.5%, according to CoinDesk. It is trading for just over $66,000 per token.
Among other bitcoin-related stocks, Coinbase Global (COIN) was up nearly 4% and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) rose nearly 3%. But cryptocurrency miner Marathon Digital (MARA) reversed lower as it fell around 5%.
Outside Dow Jones: 3 Stocks Eye Entries
While the stock market today is in the grip of some turmoil, investors can look for stocks near buy points for their watchlists.
Aerospace play Heico is showing relative strength on the stock market today as it holds close to a flat-base buy point of 200.64. This is a first-stage base, which means it is more likely to net big gains.
The stock’s EPS Rating comes in at 83 and it boasts strong institutional support. In total, 63% of its stock is currently held by funds, according to MarketSurge data.
Energy play Cactus has formed a first-stage cup-with-handle base. The ideal buy point here is 53.09. Overall good performance is reflected in an IBD Composite Rating of 94.
Cactus designs, manufactures and sells oil wellheads and pressure control equipment. Its products are sold and rented principally for onshore shale and other unconventional oil and gas wells.
Waste collection company Republic Services is nearing a flat base entry of 192.57 on the stock market today. This is a mid-stage pattern and the relative strength line has just reached a fresh high.
The stock has a best-possible Composite Rating and its B+ Accumulation/Distribution reflects institutional buying of late. Its latest earnings report is due late on April 30, and could act as a catalyst.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
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