Stocks rallied Thursday after a jobs report reassured investors and took away some recession fears. The Dow Jones Industrial Average got reacquainted with its 50-day moving average by soaring nearly 700 points, while other major indexes made huge strides on the stock market today.
Dow stocks jumped 1.8%, or 683 points, on Thursday and clawed back some of the huge losses blue chips incurred this week. It ended the day right at its 50-day line after tumbling below it the last three trading sessions.
Top gainers included Intel, one of the stocks that took a beating in the market's recent downturn. Intel jumped nearly 8%. Another big mover was Salesforce, up nearly 4%.
The S&P 500 had its best day of the year, finishing with a 2.3% gain, while the Nasdaq bounded 2.9% higher and appeared to have found some footing well above its 200-day moving average. Both indexes have much work to do, however, before catching up with their 50-day lines.
Volume was lower on the New York Stock Exchange and higher on the Nasdaq exchange compared with the same time on Wednesday. But advancers beat decliners by nearly 4-to-1 on the NYSE and almost 3-to 1 on the Nasdaq.
The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 2.2%. The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund rose 3% on the stock market today.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose two basis points to 3.99% after economic data helped ease worries of a recession.
All sectors ended in positive territory on the stock market today. Technology and communication services gained the most while utilities and consumer staples held the least gains.
3:17 p.m. ET
Thursday's Market Movers
McKesson and Monster Beverage were the worst performers in the S&P 500 as they dived on earnings reports. Parker Hannifin and Eli Lilly were the top S&P gainers, also after reporting results. Chip plays Arm Holdings and On Semiconductor led the Nasdaq higher.
2 p.m. ET
Lower Jobless Claims, Higher Bears
Initial jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 3 came in lower than views at 233,000 and fell 17,000 from the prior week. Economists had expected 240,000 after claims hit a one-year high of 250,000 during the week ended July 27.
According to the Investors Intelligence latest report on market sentiment, the ratio of bullish advisors fell to 46.9% from 59.4% and 64.2% in the past two weeks. Bears, meanwhile, jumped to 18.7% from 15.6% in the prior week.
The higher bull count from two weeks ago indicates the market was facing "very elevated risk and limited funds on the sidelines to power markets still higher," Investors Intelligence said.
12:15 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Medical, Restaurant Stocks Sell Off
Sarepta Therapeutics fell below the 50-day moving average in strong volume after second-quarter results were announced, triggering a sell signal.
In the restaurant industry, Dutch Bros gapped down over 20% and fell below the 200-day moving average, also in heavy volume, after second-quarter results were released.
10:41 a.m. ET
Earnings Movers
Earnings moved several stocks. Robinhood Markets rose 4% despite a strong quarter. The stock is a holding in three of Cathie Wood's Ark Invest funds.
New issue SharkNinja jumped on its earnings report and broke out past a buy point of 80.81, according to chart pattern tools on IBD MarketSurge. The household appliances maker is an options play on IBD Leaderboard and was a top performer in the IBD MarketSurge Growth 250.
In medical stocks, Eli Lilly gapped up to the 50-day line after it announced second-quarter results, although gains faded. McKesson dived below the 50-day moving average and triggered a sell rule.
Market Rally Steps Up, But Must Do This; 15 Stocks To Watch
Stock Market Today: Tech Stocks Rise On Earnings
Enterprise software stocks Datadog, AppLovin and HubSpot rose on the stock market today after reporting quarterly results.
Datadog reported second quarter results above views, while HubSpot also beat earnings and sales views during its second quarter and guided in line with estimates. Mobile app marketing platform provider AppLovin also announced second-quarter results above estimates.
IBD Leaderboard Watchlist stock CyberArk Software gapped up above its 50-day line after earnings and sales beat views, while JFrog dived 28%, falling below its 50-day line after Q2 sales missed expectations.
Warner Bros. Discovery fell 9% and sank further below the 50-day moving average in heavy volume, which triggered a sell signal. The company reported a steep loss of $4.07 per share for its second quarter while sales declined 6%.
Among internet content plays, Bumble also gapped down sharply and plunged 30% in heavy volume following its earnings report.
Dow Jones Stocks
Apple, Intel, Microsoft and other tech stocks gained on the Dow Jones index.
Health care and financial stocks gained as well on the stock market today. Amgen and Salesforce rose and are both trying to climb back above their 50-day lines. Disney and UnitedHealth were the only Dow Jones components that lagged.
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