Major stock indexes held solid gains near 12 p.m. ET Friday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged again after tumbling 600 points Thursday. Salesforce came under more selling pressure on the stock market today ahead of next week's earnings report.
After slumping nearly 2% Thursday in higher volume, Salesforce was down another 2% in midday trading. The company reports April-quarter results Wednesday after the close. Salesforce gapped down last month after reports surfaced that the company was in talks to buy data management software provider Informatica. But talks stalled after both firms couldn't agree on a price, which was rumored to be around $10 billion.
Nvidia held gains well in the stock market today after soaring more than 9% Thursday. Nvidia added more than $200 billion in market capitalization yesterday alone after the company said data center revenue surged more than 400% year over year.
Top gainers in the Nasdaq 100 included Qualcomm, Advanced Micro Devices and CrowdStrike. Qualcomm continues to be a strong price performer, along with CrowdStrike, which is setting up in a well-formed base. AMD has been lagging since March.
Stock Market Today
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite were up 0.7% and 1%, respectively, near midday after both indexes suffered harsh distribution days Thursday. Each index fell less than 1% Thursday, but the selling was pronounced in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq pared an intraday gain of nearly 1.2% to a loss of 0.4% by the close.
Earnings Calendar Spotlight On Salesforce, Cava, Abercrombie & Fitch
The Russell 2000 small-cap index also rebounded 1% Friday after paying a visit to its 50-day moving average Thursday.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETFis up 2% and rising past a 28.35 buy point.
The Dow Jones industrials edged higher by 0.2% near midday, buoyed by strong showings from Intel, American Express and Apple.
Intel led the way, up 2%. Apple and AmEx rallied around 1.5%. Apple is less than 5% off its all-time high as it nears the top of a 23-week consolidation.
Ross Stores and Deckers Outdoor were top gainers in the S&P 500, helped by strong earnings reports. The retailer topped earnings expectations along with Deckers, with the latter highlighting a 34% increase in Hoka running shoe revenue. Ross stock gapped sharply up above its 50-day moving average, while Deckers gapped to an all-time high, clearing the 916.65 buy point of a cup with handle.
Volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq was sharply lower compared to the same time Thursday. Breath was nearly 2-to-1 positive on the Nasdaq and more than 3-to-1 positive on the NYSE
Stocks On The Move
Inside the MarketSurge Growth 250, China-based PDD jumped to another 52-week high in the stock market today after reporting strong earnings earlier in the week. The giant e-commerce platform reported its second straight quarter of triple-digit earnings and revenue growth Wednesday.
Thinly traded but highly rated small cap MoneyLion soared out of a short consolidation with an 87 buy point. Shares jumped more than 15%, but the stock is already extended past the 5% buy zone.
Leaderboard stock First Solar soared to another all-time high after a bullish close Thursday that saw the solar giant pare a 5.6% intraday loss to less than 1%. The solar modules maker joined the Leaders list on May 3.
Cava soared another 7% to an all-time high ahead of next week's earnings report. It was an inauspicious debut for Cava last year at 22 a share, but buyers have been dictating the action lately amid strong top-line growth. The restaurant chain is also in the early stages of expansion.
In the aerospace/defense group, new issue Loar Holdings is back in the 5% buy zone from a 54.32 entry amid volatile trade. Shares reversed sharply lower with the broad market Thursday after Loar cleared an IPO base earlier in the week.
A nearly 14% earnings sell-off for Workday Friday weighed on the enterprise software group, which was down 1.3%.
Economic Data
In economic news, durable goods orders in April rose 0.7% month over month, much stronger than the Econoday consensus of -0.5%. Excluding transportation, orders were up 0.4% vs. forecasts for 0.2%.
The 10-year Treasury yield didn't move much on the news. After clearing some key technical levels Thursday, the 10-year yield was mostly flat near 4.47%.
The stock market also liked the latest reading from the University of Michigan's one-year inflation expectations gauge, which came in at 3.3%, down from a preliminary reading of 3.5% and views for 3.5%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures added 0.6% to just over $77.25 a barrel.
Follow Ken Shreve on X @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
