Dow Jones futures edged lower after hours, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
The stock market rally had a strong Wednesday, with all the major indexes hitting fresh highs on strong earnings from Salesforce.com (CRM), Marvell Technology (MRVL) and other techs. Software in particular was strong.
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Tech Earnings Lift Nasdaq To Another Record High; CRWD, EXPE, MANH In Focus
Stocks extended gains slightly as Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell reiterated his upbeat take on the economy and the Fed’s independence. Powell also buoyed bitcoin, saying the cryptocurrency is “digital gold.”
Nvidia (NVDA) broke back above key resistance and a buy point. Is the artificial intelligence leader ready for a new run?
Confluent (CFLT), HubSpot (HUBS), Snowflake (SNOW), Roku (ROKU), SharkNinja (SN), Powell Industries (POWL) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) all flashed buy signals.
Nvidia stock is on IBD Leaderboard, SwingTrader and the IBD 50. Confluent was Wednesday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures dipped 0.1% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures edged lower. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Key Earnings
SentinelOne (S), nCino (NCNO), Synopsys (SNPS), AeroVironment (AVAV) and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) reported Wednesday night.
All fell solidly to sharply in after-hours action. Synopsys, SentinelOne and nCino are set to undercut or at least test buy points.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally had a Nasdaq-led advance Wednesday, fueled by software and other tech earnings, weak economic data and an upbeat Fed chief Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% in Wednesday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index gained 0.6%, with Salesforce stock leading the way with an 11% gain. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.3%. All hit record highs intraday.
The small-cap Russell 2000 climbed 0.4%, close to all-time levels.
It was a strong day for tech growth stocks, while energy and commodity plays retreated. Homebuilders struggled even with Treasury yields falling.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 2% to $68.54 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell four basis points to 4.18% after hitting 4.28% intraday. The ADP Employment Report and the ISM services index both came in light for November.
Powell Boosts ‘Digital Gold’ Bitcoin
Bitcoin jumped 3.45% to $98,972.09 as of 4 p.m. ET on Fed chief Powell’s “digital gold” comments, back near the late November record of $99,768. He also said bitcoin isn’t a real competitor to the dollar, suggesting little Fed concern with the digital asset. Earlier, President-elect Trump tapped former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to head up the financial markets watchdog. Atkins is seen as a pro-crypto pick.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) popped 1.15%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) jumped 3.9%. Salesforce stock is the No. 1 holding, with Confluent, HubSpot, SentinelOne and nCino also in IGV. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gained 1.7%. Nvidia stock is the No. 1 component with Marvell also in the ETF. Chip-design software maker Synopsys is in both IGV and SMH.
ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) rallied 3.1% and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) advanced 1.7%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) fell 1.45%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) sank 1.5%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) slumped 2.4% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) lost a fraction.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) rose 0.4%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) declined 0.4%.
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Nvidia Stock Ready To Run?
Nvidia stock rose 3.5% to 145.14, regaining the 21-day moving average and a 140.76 buy point, according to MarketSurge. Investors could use the 150 level as an add-on entry above the bulk of the past few weeks of action.
Additionally, Nvidia is likely benefiting from Marvell, which gapped up 23.2% Wednesday to a record high following earnings.
NVDA stock, rebounding this week from the 10-week line, has been consolidating since late June. Despite its massive move since late 2022, Nvidia doesn’t have a high valuation on a forward price-earnings basis, thanks to still-huge growth.
So perhaps the AI leader is ready for another run. Of course, that was arguably true also back at the late October breakout. Getting above the trading range will be key.
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What To Do Now
The stock market rally looks strong, with tech taking the lead once again.
A number of stocks broke out or offered traditional entries Wednesday, including those cited above. Meanwhile, a number of leaders made bullish moves off the 21-day line or out of short consolidations, including Fortinet (FTNT) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG).
The advantage is that investors get a chance to buy or add to the market rally’s real winners, with “heat” working. But the entries are higher risk, so be ready to exit.
Definitely be working on watchlists, so you can identify setups. Stay engaged so you can take advantage. But if you’re already heavily or fully invested, you don’t have to jump on every stock flashing green. And if you do make new buys, you might make room by cutting laggards or choosing to bank profits in some highly extended winners.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
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