The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell Wednesday as McDonald's took a beating amid an E. coli outbreak. Fellow Dow component Boeing lost altitude on the stock market today, but Trump Media & Technology retook a key benchmark. And legendary Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Warren Buffett issued a warning to investors.
The Dow pared some of its losses, but ended the day down more than 400 points, or 1%. A day after its shares plunged 5%, Verizon Communications ended up as the best-performing Dow component on Wednesday with a gain of more than 3%. The likes of 3M, Amazon.com and Apple were among the laggards, each off 2% or more.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite took the hardest hit, sinking 1.6%. Baker Hughes and Texas Instruments fared best here. CoStar lagged as it fell more than 5% while Arm Holdings plunged nearly 7%.
Stock Market Today: Growth Stocks Mauled
The benchmark S&P 500 slid nearly 1%. Enphase Energy got crushed. The solar stock plunged nearly 15% after issuing a disappointing outlook.
Amphenol was initially a top performer on the S&P before backing well off its highs. It remained up more than 2% but has surrendered a 70.84 consolidation entry.
The S&P 500 sectors were mostly negative. Only real estate and utilities, the latter a defensive area, were in positive territory. Conversely, technology and consumer discretionary were hit the hardest.
Small caps also got a spanking, with the Russell 2000 skidding 0.8%. Growth stocks were hit the hardest though, with the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund dropping more than 2%.
And while stocks gave up ground, Treasury yields were climbing again. The 10-year Treasury note rose 3 basis points to 4.24% while the 2-year gained 4 basis points to sit at 4.08%.
3:07 p.m. ET
Tesla Earnings, Elon Musk Due
Electric-vehicle maker Tesla tumbled Wednesday ahead of its results after the close. This is arguably the week's most important quarterly report.
Wall Street expects earnings to drop 9% to 59 cents a share even as revenue is seen rising 9% to $25.47 billion, according to FactSet. However, some have the revenue coming in lower than that number. Comments from Chief Executive Elon Musk in the post-earnings conference call are always closely observed and could also move the stock.
Earlier this month, the company reported global third-quarter deliveries had risen by 6% compared with a year ago. This was its third-best quarterly total to date.
Tesla stock fell more than 2% on the stock market today. This caused it to lose ground on the important 50-day moving average.
To see IBD's latest coverage of Tesla earnings, click this link.
Stock Market Today: McDonalds Stock Hit Amid E. Coli Outbreak
The bears continued to feast on McDonald's stock heading into the close amid an E. coli outbreak. The stock tumbled after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked the fast-food chain's Quarter Pounder burgers to the event.
There have been 10 hospitalizations and one death, with "most" of the 49 people affected falling ill after eating a Quarter Pounder.
McDonald's USA President Joe Erlinger told NBC that the company "took swift action" to remove the burger from its menu. The company has said other menu items such as regular burgers and Big Macs are not affected and are still available.
It emerged today that the CDC had told the burger giant about a potential E. coli outbreak late last week. McDonald's pulled the item from its menus before the body issued its advisory notice. About a fifth of restaurants in the U.S. are currently not selling Quarter Pounders.
Shares were off not quite at session lows, but remained down about 5%. McDonald's stock now has nearly erased the gains from a breakout past its 292.21 cup-with-handle entry last month.
1:37 p.m. ET
Donald Trump Stock Recaptures Key Benchmark
Much like its namesake, Trump Media stock has been on the comeback trail of late. The stock was making more progress on the stock market today, rising nearly 4% in afternoon trade. This allowed it to recapture the important 200-day moving average.
The Donald Trump holding has been rooted below this level since July 23, when it was coming under monumental pressure.
But while some might argue this is a good time to buy, the fact it now sits more than 70% above its 50-day moving average makes this a risky venture.
Since hitting a recent low of 11.75, Trump stock has rallied by roughly 204%. Nevertheless, it has a subpar Composite Rating of 42 out of 99 from Investor's Business Daily.
Further, earnings are a key weakness as the company continues to lose money. It sports a weak EPS Rating of 15 out of 99.
But while the action has been wild for shares, Trump stock now holds a gain of nearly 104% so far in 2024.
12:12 p.m. ET
Existing Home Sales Fall, But Homebuilders Steady
Existing home sales in America fell to their lowest level in 14 years, the National Association of Realtors reported. Sales of previously owned homes skidded 1% to an annualized rate of 3.84 million in September. This was the lowest level since October 2010.
In addition, the inventory of unsold existing homes rose by 1.5% on the prior month to 1.39 million at the end of September, or 4.3 months-worth of supply at the current monthly sales pace.
"There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a news release. "Perhaps, some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election."
Homebuilder stocks were steady. D.R. Horton rose 0.1%, PulteGroup gained 0.6% and NVR slipped 0.2%.
The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF rose 0.1% while the triple-leveraged Direxion Daily Homebuilders & Supplies Bull 3X Shares ETF rose 0.2%.
10:53 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Today: Coca-Cola, Boeing Slip After Results
Outside of McDonald's, a couple of other Dow Jones stocks made waves on the stock market today.
Boeing stock fell more than 1% after the firm turned in a whopping loss of $10.44 per share, which was bigger than analysts feared. However, revenue of $17.8 billion met expectations.
The aerospace giant already flagged to investors this would be a tough quarter. It comes as International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers members vote Wednesday on a new contract agreed between Boeing and the union. Workers will get a 35% wage increase over the four-year span of the contract.
If approved by workers, the deal would bring a crippling monthlong strike to an end. Standard & Poor's has estimated that Boeing is losing $1 billion a month due to the industrial action.
Coca-Cola fell more than 2% on the stock market today, but was off lows, after the soft drink leviathan posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Earnings rose 4% to 77 cents a share as revenue fell 1% to $11.95 billion, also above views. Higher prices helped offset lighter demand.
The stock has now undercut the lows of a flat base and sits about 4% below its 50-day moving average.
Tesla Earnings Stun After Stock Market Retreat
Buffett Issues Warning To Investors
Warren Buffett is followed closely by investors due to his legendary success. But the "Oracle of Omaha" has issued a warning to investors that they should not be scammed by people claiming he is endorsing any investment products or political candidates.
"Mr. Buffett does not currently and will not prospectively endorse investment products or endorse and support political candidates," a statement on Berkshire's website said.
However, some of the stocks in the portfolio of his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate currently sit near entries.
For one, Apple sits just below a consolidation entry of 237.23, MarketSurge analysis shows. This is an early stage pattern. Overall performance is very strong, with a Composite Rating from Investor's Business Daily sitting at 94 out of 99. Earnings are due soon, which adds risk.
Also, Amazon.com is eyeing a consolidation buy point of 201.20. The e-commerce kingpin also plans to post results soon. Earnings and price performance are solid, with the stock holding a Composite Rating of 95.
A third Berkshire holding, Louisiana-Pacific, is testing support at its 50-day line as it sits just below a flat-base buy point of 101.89. Overall performance is strong, with the wood products play holding a rare ideal EPS Rating of 99.
Stock Market Today: Stocks Near Entries
A number of stocks traded near buy points early Wednesday. CBOE Global Markets sits just below a flat-base entry of 216.14. This is a first-stage pattern. IBD research has found such early stage bases have a better chance of success.
CBOE holds an excellent IBD Composite Rating of 95. Earnings are a key strength, with its EPS Rating sitting at 92 out of 99. Funds have been net buyers of late, netting it an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B.
Cybersecurity leader Palo Alto Networks is flirting with a consolidation pattern entry of 380.84, according to MarketSurge analysis. However it was giving up ground in early action.
The security software play has a strong, but not ideal, IBD Composite Rating of 91 out of 99. The stock is up nearly 28% so far in 2024 and is among the top 15% of issues in terms of price performance over the past 12 months. Noteworthy funds holding shares include the highly rated Fidelity Contrafund.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
