The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned higher Monday morning, as the stock market threatened to add to Thursday's sharp losses. The 10-year Treasury yield hit another 52-week high Monday. And Twitter stock reversed lower, as the company attempts to fend off Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's takeover.
Bank of America reported its quarterly earnings ahead of Monday's market open. BAC shares rose almost 3% after topping earnings and sales estimates. Charles Schwab also reported early. Schwab shares tumbled more than 9%.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, Apple dropped 0.6%. while Microsoft lost a fraction in today's stock market.
Twitter reversed 1% lower Monday. On Friday, the company announced that its Board of Directors adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan, often called a "poison pill," in order to prevent Tesla CEO Elon Musk's buyout.
Under the new plan, if any person or group acquires beneficial ownership of at least 15% of Twitter's outstanding common stock without the board's approval, other shareholders will be allowed to purchase additional shares at a discount. That would quickly dilute Musk's stake and make buying more shares expensive.
Meanwhile, electric-vehicle giant Tesla dropped around 1% Monday morning. In a new research note, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest expects Tesla stock to hit 4,600 in 2026.
As the stock market's uptrend struggles, Dow Jones financial leader American Express — along with IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Edwards Lifesciences, Murphy Oil, Raytheon Technologies, Shell and Ulta Beauty — are among Monday's top stocks to buy and watch.
Microsoft and Tesla are IBD Leaderboard stocks. Edwards Lifesciences and Raytheon Technologies were featured in last week's Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices
After Monday's open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 moved up 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.5% in morning trade.
Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust traded down 0.4%. And the SPDR S&P 500 ETF was up 0.1% after Monday's open.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield surged to 2.82% Thursday, its highest level since December 2018. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher to 2.86% Monday morning before paring gains. Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices were up more than 1%, as Texas Intermediate crude traded near $108 a barrel.
Stock Market Rally Continues To Struggle
On Thursday, the stock market posted a disappointing performance, as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes sold off sharply.
Thursday's The Big Picture column cautioned, "The Nasdaq has wiped out all gains from its March 18 follow-through and is below its 50-day moving average. The S&P 500 is still above its March 16 follow-through, for now."
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
Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch: American Express
Dow Jones financial stock American Express is tracing a cup-with-handle base, showing a 194.45 buy point. AXP shares were up 1.3% Monday morning.
Keep an eye on the stock's relative strength line. Amid its recent ascent, the RS line is nearing its old highs, but does have some work cut out for it ahead of a potential breakout. The RS line measures a stock's price performance vs. the S&P 500. The RS line should hit a new high on the breakout day or shortly thereafter to confirm the strength of stock's breakout.
Four Top Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: Edwards, Murphy, Raytheon, Shell, Ulta
IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Edwards Lifesciences now shows a cup with handle with a 125.21 buy point as a result of last week's weakness. EW shares were down 0.3% Monday morning.
Murphy Oil is tracing an ascending base with a 43.30 buy point. Following Thursday's 1.6% gain, shares are about 2% away from their latest entry. MUR stock boasts a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating, per the IBD Stock Checkup. Shares were up 3% early Monday.
Defense contractor Raytheon Technologies is trying to break out past a flat base's 104.44 buy point after shares rallied 0.9% Thursday, briefly topping the entry before closing below it. RTX shares edged higher Monday morning.
Oil-and-gas producer Shell, the April 1 IBD Stock Of The Day, is in buy range above a flat base's 56.23 buy point after Thursday 's 0.1% rise. The 5% buy area goes up to 59.04. SHEL shares inched higher Monday morning.
Ulta Beauty shares are in the 5% buy range past a cup with handle's 408.83 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. The buy area goes up to 429.27. The stock's relative strength line is at new high, which is a key sign of market leadership. ULTA shares were down 0.5% early Monday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock dropped around 1% Monday, adding to Thursday's 3.7% decline. Late Thursday, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest said it expects Tesla to hit 4,600 in 2026 in its new price-target model. Shares of the EV giant finished Thursday about 15% below a cup-with-handle's 1,152.97 buy point.
The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4. and ended Thursday about 21% away from that all-time high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares moved down 3% Thursday, triggering the 7%-8% loss-cutting rule from a 176.75 buy point in a double-bottom base and falling below the 50-day line. The stock is close to triggering the 7%-8% loss-cutting sell rule. Meanwhile, a handle buy point is the latest entry to watch at 179.71. The stock lost 0.6% Monday morning.
Software leader Microsoft declined 2.7% Thursday, hitting its lowest level since March 15. Shares are falling further below their 50-and 200-day lines. The stock is around 20% off its 52-week high. MSFT shares edged lower early Monday.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
