The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 300 points Wednesday morning after early U.S. election results, which showed Republicans favored to win a narrow House majority, but short of expectations. Tesla stock fell as it was reported Chief Executive Elon Musk has sold almost $4 billion worth of Tesla shares over the past few days.
Dow Jones media giant Disney dived 9% on a surprise earnings miss. Disney earnings were expected to jump 48% to 56 cents per share on revenue of $21.3 billion. Instead, the company's earnings fell to 30 cents per share on sales of $20.5 billion.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms rallied 6%, leading the Nasdaq in early trade. The company announced it would layoff about 13% of its workforce, and narrowed its 2023 revenue outlook to between $34 billion and $37 billion, vs. earlier predictions of $34 billion to $39 billion.
Stock Market Today: Earnings Season Rolls On
Key earnings movers Wednesday were Array Technologies, Disney, Lucid Motors and Warren Buffett stock Occidental Petroleum.
Array shares soared 17%, while Lucid Motors skidded more than 9%. OXY shares lost 3.5% in morning trade.
Electric-vehicle giant Tesla traded down 0.5% Wednesday morning. Dow Jones tech leaders Apple and Microsoft were squarely lower after today's stock market open.
Among the top stocks to buy and watch, Albemarle, IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Arista Networks and CF Industries — as well as Dow Jones names Merck and UnitedHealth Group — are among the top stocks to buy and watch.
Arista Networks is an IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock. Albemarle was featured in this week's Stocks Near A Buy Zone column, along with three other top stock ideas. UnitedHealth was IBD's Stock Of The Day on Thursday.
Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices
After Wednesday's opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%, while the S&P 500 moved down 0.85%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.1% in morning action, with China-based names taking four of the index's five hardest hits in early trade.
The mostly mild response of stocks to Tuesday's still-developing election tally could show the results already baked into valuations. It may also suggest markets are more interested in the next round of key inflation data, due out Thursday morning.
Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust traded down 1% early Wednesday, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF dropped 0.8%.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.16% Wednesday morning, rising after Tuesday's fall to 4.12%.
Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices traded down nearly 2%, with West Texas Intermediate futures falling below $88 a barrel. Weekly industry data released late Tuesday showed that crude inventories increased more than expected. Official weekly numbers are due out at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Last week, WTI futures hit their highest point since mid-October, but have since retreated.
Stock Market Rally Struggles
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.
Tuesday's The Big Picture commented, "It's not easy watching indexes head higher with growth stocks generally not participating. Leaderboard is less than 50% invested, holding just seven names. Be patient and wait for the best chart setups. Avoid chasing stocks that are up multiple days in a row. If more institutional money continues to come in from the sidelines, the (growth stock) setups shouldn't be far behind."
Now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column. Following recent selling, investors should be more focused on playing defense than buying breakouts.
Five Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch Now
Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch: Merck, UnitedHealth
Dow Jones member and IBD 50 stock Merck remains out of buy range past a double-bottom base's 93.12 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. Merck shares inched higher Wednesday.
Health care giant UnitedHealth is trying to retake a 553.23 buy point out of a cup with handle. Shares climbed 1.5% Tuesday, ending about 10 cents below their latest entry. UNH stock dipped Wednesday morning.
4 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Top Stocks To Buy And Watch: Albemarle, Arista, CF
Lithium producer Albemarle is trying to break out past a cup base's 308.34 buy point. Shares surged 6.8% Tuesday, extending a win streak to four sessions. ALB stock dropped 1.25% early Wednesday.
IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Arista Networks is trying to break out past a choppy base's 132.97 buy point. ANET stock lost more than 3% Wednesday morning.
CF Industries found support around its 50-day moving average amid Tuesday's 4.2% rally. Shares are building a cup base that has a 119.70 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. CF stock was down 1.8% Wednesday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock skidded another 2.9% Tuesday, adding to Monday's sharp decline. Shares hit another new 52-week low and reached their lowest level since May 2021. The stock is more than 50% off its 52-week high and sharply below its 50- and 200-day moving average lines.
Shares of the EV giant moved 0.5% lower Wednesday morning. According to regulatory disclosures, Musk sold 19.5 million shares in Tesla Nov. 4-8 , right after buying Twitter for $44 billion.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares rose 0.4% Tuesday, rising for a second straight day. The stock traded down 0.9% Wednesday.
Microsoft climbed another 0.4% Tuesday, extending a win streak to three sessions. The software giant remains about 35% off its 52-week high. Microsoft shares fell 0.7% Wednesday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
