The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped Thursday after the Labor Department reported initial unemployment claims. Meanwhile, quarterly results are due after the close from Amazon and Apple.
Early Thursday, first-time jobless claims rose to 227,000 vs. 221,000 in the previous week. They were expected to rise to 225,000.
Further, the U.S. Services Purchasing Managers' Index measured 52.3, slightly below the expected 52.4 reading. Finally, the Institute for Supply Management services index eased to 52.7 in July, slightly below the 53.0 estimate, vs. 53.9 in June.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England raised its key interest rate, from 5% to 5.25%, its highest level since February 2008.
Stock Market Earnings: PayPal, Qualcomm
Early Thursday, CF Industries, DoorDash, Etsy, Fastly, HubSpot and MercadoLibre — along with PayPal, Qualcomm, Shift4, Shopify and Unity Software — are key earnings movers.
CF stock climbed more than 3% Thursday, while DoorDash shares moved up nearly 1%. ETSY stock tumbled 9%, as Fastly shares jumped 12%.
HubSpot dived 7% early, as MELI stock advanced more than 5%. PayPal shares slid more than 9% in morning action.
Qualcomm plunged 9%, FOUR stock climbed 2.5% and Shopify rose 1.1% in morning action. Finally, Unity shares reversed slightly lower after the market open.
Late Thursday, tech titans Amazon and Apple are set to report their highly anticipated earnings results.
Stock Market Today
Electric-vehicle giant Tesla traded up 0.7% early Thursday. Dow Jones tech giants Apple and Microsoft were mixed after today's stock market open.
Other stock market leaders include Alphabet and Meta Platforms. GOOGL stock lost 0.5%, while Meta shares dropped 0.6% in early action.
Broadcom, Skechers, Splunk and UiPath — as well as Dow Jones stocks Boeing, Intel and Salesforce — are among the best stocks to watch in the now-struggling stock market rally.
Tesla is an IBD Leaderboard stock, while Boeing and Skechers were recent IBD Stock Of The Day picks. And Skechers featured in this Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields
After Thursday's opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.35%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.2% in morning action.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust was down 0.3%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF fell 0.5% early Thursday.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ticked higher to 4.17% Thursday morning. On Wednesday, the 10-year yield closed at its highest level since early March, settling at 4.07%.
West Texas Intermediate oil prices pulled back from their recent highs, with big losses Wednesday. WTI futures rebounded Thursday morning, to near $80 a barrel.
Stock Market Action
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sold off 1%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite finished down 2.2%.
Wednesday's Big Picture column commented, "The Nasdaq posted its biggest single-session drop in more than five months on Wednesday, and volume rose sharply. While earnings reports certainly deserved much of the blame, perhaps the primary news that helped stimulate sellers actually came from the debt markets. Long-dated U.S. government bonds fell hard after Fitch Ratings delivered the first downgrade of U.S. Treasury securities in 12 years."
Now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column as the stock market pulls back from this year's highs.
Five Best Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch Now
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: Boeing, Intel, Salesforce
Aerospace giant Boeing broke out last week, topping a 223.91 flat-base entry. Shares are falling back into the 5% buy area that goes up to 235.11, with a 2.8% drop Wednesday. BA stock rose 0.4% Thursday morning.
Chip giant Intel is holding close to a 37.11 cup-base buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. Shares are about 6% away from their latest entry. INTC stock moved up 0.3% Thursday morning.
Salesforce's recent breakout continues to struggle, with the stock falling further below the flat base's 225 entry, according to IBD Leaderboard analysis. CRM stock lost another 1.8% Thursday.
4 Top Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch In The Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: Broadcom, Skechers, Splunk, UiPath
Chip giant Broadcom is eyeing a 921.78 buy point in a consolidation, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. Shares are just 3% away from their latest entry. AVGO stock traded a fraction lower Thursday morning.
Skechers broke out Friday, surging above a 54.77 buy point after the company's strong quarterly earnings results. But shares gave up their entry during Wednesday's 2.5% drop. SKX stock was down 0.2% early Thursday.
Splunk is near a 111.72 buy point in a cup with handle as it tries to again find support at the 50-day line. SPLK moved up 0.3% Thursday morning.
UiPath is also building a cup with handle. But shares closed below their 50-day line Wednesday and are about 14% away from their 19.03 buy point. PATH stock dropped almost 1% early Thursday.
Learn How To Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Best Stocks To Buy And Watch In Stock Market Rally
These are four best stocks to buy and watch in today's stock market, including a Dow Jones leader.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Buy Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| UiPath | 19.03 | Cup with handle | |
| Salesforce | 225.00 | Flat base | |
| Broadcom | 921.78 | Consolidation | |
| Skechers | 54.77 | Flat base |
Source: IBD Data As Of Aug. 1, 2023
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
IBD Leaderboard stock Tesla skidded 2.7% Wednesday, falling sharply for a second day. Amid the pullback, Tesla shares are trying to find support around their key 50-day line. A decisive rebound would place the electric-vehicle leader in a new buy area.
TSLA stock threatened to add to Wednesday's losses, but reversed up 0.7% Thursday morning.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple stock dropped 1.55% Wednesday, falling from its recent highs. Still, AAPL stock is far above its 157.38 buy point and nicely above the 50-day line. Apple will report fiscal third-quarter results after the close. Early Thursday, shares fell 0.5% in morning action.
Microsoft shares closed Wednesday squarely below their 50-day line, a sign the stock needs more time to consolidate before a new buy point emerges. And on Thursday morning, Microsoft shares were up a fraction.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
