Dow Jones futures edged higher Thursday morning, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Dow giants Walmart and Costco are in focus
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The stock market rally saw record highs on the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite following a tame inflation reading and weak retail sales.
Nvidia (NVDA), the market's most important stock, broke out past a buy point a week before earnings. Dell Technologies (DELL), PulteGroup (PHM), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Deckers (DECK), Eli Lilly (LLY), Azek (AZEK), KLA Corp. (KLAC), DraftKings (DKNG), KKR (KKR) NetApp (NTAP) and ServiceNow (NOW) were among the leading stocks flashing buy signals.
Walmart (WMT) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings early Thursday amid strong e-commerce sales. WMT stock popped early Thursday, signaling a move a double-bottom buy point.
Fellow Dow giantCisco Systems (CSCO) reported strong earnings late Wednesday. Cisco stock rose modestly in premarket trade, still trying to break an eight-month downtrend.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) disclosed first-quarter stock buys and sells late Wednesday. Berkshire revealed a $6.7 billion investment in insurer Chubb (CB), the "mystery stock" that Buffett has been buying confidentially for several months. CB stock soared overnight.
Nvidia stock and Eli Lilly are on IBD Leaderboard. Dell stock, Intuitive Surgical, DraftKings, ServiceNow and Nvidia are on SwingTrader. KLAC stock is on the IBD Long-Term Leaders list. Nvidia and KKR stock are on the IBD 50. Nvidia was Wednesday's IBD Stock Of The Day.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures edged higher vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures rose a fraction and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.1%. CSCO stock is a Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 component, while Walmart is a Dow and S&P 500 giant.
The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.33%.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally enjoyed solid gains Wednesday, with all the major indexes pushing into new-high ground on favorable economic data.
The April consumer price index was in line with views, with core inflation falling to a three-year low. The April retail sales report and the May Empire State manufacturing index were weaker than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9% in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index popped 1.2% and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.4%.
The Nasdaq's strong move came on significantly higher volume than the prior session.
The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 1.1%, nearing a two-year best from late March.
A large number of leading stocks flashed buy signals across a variety of sectors, far more than listed in this article. Those follow several actionable stocks over the past week or so.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 0.8% to $78.63 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield plunged 9 basis points to 4.35%, below the 50-day line for the first time in two months.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) jumped 2.5%, with ServiceNow stock a key component. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) leapt 3%. Nvidia stock is the No. 1 holding in SMH, with KLAC also a notable member.
Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) climbed 1.4% and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) advanced 0.5%. DKNG stock is a notable holding across Ark Invest's ETFs.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) gained 1.3% and the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) rose 1.2%. U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) fell 0.5%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) popped 2.35%, with PulteGroup a notable holding. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) edged up 0.2% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 1.5%, with Eli Lilly the No. 1 holding and ISRG stock also a member.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) and Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) climbed 0.7%.
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Nvidia Stock Breaks Out
NVDA stock rose 3.6% to 946.30, clearing a 922.20 cup-with-handle buy point. The AI chip leader reports earnings on May 22.
Other Stocks Clearing Buy Points
Dell stock surged 11.2% to 149.16, clearing a short consolidation entry of 136.16. It's now extended, with the buy zone ending at 142.97. The relative strength line, the blue line in the charts provided, is at a record high, a bullish sign. On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley called Dell the "best way to play" the AI infrastructure buildout.
PulteGroup stock leapt 5.1% to 122.07, topping a short cup-with-handle base buy point of 120.74, according to MarketSurge. Investors also could have used a break of the handle's downtrend as a slightly early entry. Some other builders, including KB Home (KBH), also triggered buy signals.
Intuitive Surgical stock popped 4% to 399.39, rebounding from the 50-day line and clearing short-term highs, offering an early entry. ISRG stock has a 403.76 flat-base buy point.
Deckers stock climbed 2.4% to 903.68, decisively clearing the 50-day line after Tuesday's gains. DECK stock is actionable here, with a 956.17 cup-base official buy point. Several other specialty footwear makers also have been acting well. Deckers earnings for the March-ended Q4 are due next week.
Eli Lilly stock gained 3.2% to 787.02, bounding off the 50-day line and breaking a short downtrend. Eli Lily stock has an official 795.50 handle buy point to a shallow double-bottom base. Weight-loss drug rival Novo Nordisk (NVO) also is actionable, slightly below its own base buy point.
Management, Chip Gear Stocks Also In Focus
KKR stock leapt 5.1% to 107.67, closing above a 103.48 flat-base buy point after flirting with a breakout on Monday. Several other investment management stocks have been flashing buy signals.
Azek stock rallied 5.8% to 48.29, moving above the 50-day in heavy volume, offering an early entry. The fake-wood maker for residential and commercial customers has a 50.78 buy point from a flat base.
KLA stock popped 4.1% to 759.72, clearing a 729.15 flat-base buy point.
NetApp stock rose 1.45% to 110.62, in range of a 108.82 double-bottom buy point and setting a record close. Pure Storage (PSTG) and Nutanix (NTNX) also have cleared buy points recently.
ServiceNow stock advanced 5.4% to 760.67, retaking its 50-day line in above-average volume, offering an aggressive entry or place to start a position. A downward-sloping trendline, currently around 780, as well as short-term highs around 795 and 808, offer early entries as well. NOW stock has an official 815.32 consolidation buy point.
DraftKings stock rose 4.6% to 46.15, bouncing from the 50-day line, clearing short-term highs and breaking a trendline, offering an early entry. Shares are also above a prior, invalid entry above 45. DKNG stock has a 49.57 consolidation buy point.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally is at record highs while more leading names are flashing buy signals.
Investors should be taking advantage of these opportunities. Adding gradually over the past week would let traders re-establish solid or heavy exposure. If you already have heavy exposure, you might consider trimming some laggards or slower movers as the market looks to shift more clearly into a risk-on environment.
Yes, Nvidia earnings loom in a week, so you may not want to massively increase AI chip holdings at this point. But overall, earnings season is well past its peak while key inflation reports are in the rearview mirror.
More stocks are bubbling up, so keep updating your watchlists.
ReadThe Big Pictureevery 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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