The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower Monday, seeking direction after Friday's stock market sell-off. Database software developer Splunk soared on merger chatter. And Arista Networks and Continental Resources will report earnings after the close.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, Apple dropped 0.5% Monday, while Microsoft traded down 0.7% in today's stock market. American Express, a Dow Jones stock to watch, is in buy range after last week's breakout.
Splunk jumped more than 5% after the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Dow Jones stock Cisco Systems had made a $20 billion bid for the company. Electric-vehicle leader Tesla dropped 0.5%, threatening to extend a two-day losing streak.
Amid a volatile stock market rally, BHP Group, Deere, Palo Alto Networks and Stifel Financial are among Monday's top stocks to buy and watch. All four stocks are in or near new buy zones.
Microsoft, Stifel and Tesla are IBD Leaderboard stocks. American Express was featured in last week's Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Deere is an IBD SwingTrader stock. Palo Alto Networks was Thursday's IBD Stock of the Day.
Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields
After the stock market open Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%, while the S&P 500 moved 0.2% lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.3% in morning trade. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust lost 0.1%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF moved down 0.1% after Monday's open.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to 1.98% Monday morning. On Friday, the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 1.96% following Thursday's surge above 2%. Treasury yields continue to climb on expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to raise interest rates to combat pervasively high inflation.
U.S. oil prices reversed slightly lower Monday morning. West Texas Intermediate crude moved back below $93 a barrel following Friday's jump above $94 a barrel.
Stock Market Rally Falters
The stock market posted more disappointing action Friday, as all three major stock indexes again sold off with big losses. Amid the recent volatility, now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column.
Friday's The Big Picture commented, "The distribution-day count since late January remains tame. But more importantly, traders who gained market exposure after a follow-through day on Jan. 31 are now under water. You can call that an expectation breaker."
If you're new to IBD, consider taking a look at its stock trading system and CAN SLIM basics. Recognizing chart patterns is one key to the investment guidelines. IBD offers a broad range of growth stock lists, such as Leaderboard and SwingTrader.
Investors also can create watchlists, find companies nearing a buy point, or develop custom screens at IBD MarketSmith.
Four Dow Jones Stocks To Watch Now
Stock Market Earnings: Arista, Continental
Arista Networks and Continental Resources will provide insight to two very different industries after the close Monday.
Cloud software leader Arista is expected to earn 74 cents per share on revenue of $789.8 million. ANET shares found stout resistance at their 50-day line last week.
Wall Street expects Continental, a leading shale oil producer, to earn $1.70 a share on sales of $1.69 billion. CLR shares are sharply extended past a cup with handle's 53.76 entry.
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: American Express
American Express broke out past what IBD MarketSmith chart analysis plotted as a cup base buy point at 189.13 and is in the 5% buy range that tops out at 198.59. AXP stock traded up 0.5% Monday.
Bullishly, the stock's relative strength line is at new highs, indicating significant stock market outperformance.
Four Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: BHP, Deere, Palo Alto, Stifel
Mining giant BHP Group fell back below a cup-with-handle entry at 69.66 following Friday's 1.5% descent, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. The relative strength line continues to ascend but remains far from its old highs, so that's a technical metric to watch. BHP shares declined nearly 1% Monday.
IBD SwingTrader stock Deere is in buy range past a cup with handle's 388.20 buy point after last week's breakout move. The 5% buy zone goes up to 407.61. Shares rose more than 1% Monday.
Thursday's IBD Stock Of The Day, Palo Alto Networks, is moving up the right side of a consolidation with a 572.77 buy point. Shares suffered a setback Friday, falling more than 3% to drop back below the 50-day line. The cybersecurity leader will report earnings on Feb. 22, so an early breakout move will carry more risk. Palo Alto shares traded down 0.5% Monday.
IBD Leaderboard stock Stifel Financial gave up its 78.70 buy point in a consolidation during Friday's 2.2% drop. Its RS line hit a new high last week. Shares were flat Monday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock dropped 0.5% Monday, threatening to add to Friday's 4.9% fall. Early Monday, the China Passenger Car Association said Tesla sold 59,845 China-made vehicles in January, down from December's 70,847 vehicles.
The stock is again approaching its long-term 200-day line after finding support there previously in late January. Tesla shares remain sharply below their 50-day moving average. There is no proper entry in sight, as the stock continues to consolidate.
The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4, but ended Friday about 31% off that all-time high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple stock sold off 2% Friday, sliding below its key 50-day moving average line. A new consolidation shows a new buy point at 183.04, but a decisive move above last week's high of 176.65 could be as an early entry for aggressive investors. Shares lost another 0.5% Monday.
Software leader Microsoft tumbled 2.4% Friday, as the top Dow Jones stock fell back to its long-term 200-day line. MSFT stock was down 0.7% Monday.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
