Dow Jones futures rose slightly early Friday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. The stock market rally bounced back Thursday from the prior day's retreat.
Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices were big winners on a strong day for semiconductors. Nvidia and AMD stock cleared some resistance levels, offering aggressive add-on entries for existing long-term holders.
Fellow chipmaker Broadcom cleared a buy point, while commodity plays Marathon Petroleum and BHP broke out, at least intraday. Google parent Alphabet flashed a fresh buy signal. Anthem moved back into a buy zone as health insurers and service providers act well.
Nio Earnings
After the close, Tesla EV rival Nio reported a wider-than-expected loss while Q4 revenue narrowly topped. But it guided low for first-quarter deliveries.
Earlier Thursday, the first luxury ET7 sedans rolled off the assembly line. On March 28, Nio ET7 deliveries begin, with two more new EVs set to debut later this year. Xpeng reports earnings on Monday, with EV giant BYD also likely due that week, along with March China EV sales.
Very late Thursday night, Nio gave more details on its cheaper ET7 sedan and a newer ES7 due out in the third quarter. It also said work is advanced on a new, lower-priced EV brand.
Nio stock fell 5% early Friday, but at least some of that likely reflected renewed concerned of U.S. delistings. Shares rose 0.5% Thursday. XPEV stock and BYD stock also rose a fraction on Thursday. Tesla stock climbed 1.5% to 1,013.92.
Stocks On IBD Lists
Nvidia stock, Tesla and Anthem are on IBD Leaderboard. AMD stock was added to SwingTrader. Google stock is on IBD Long-Term Leaders. Tesla, Nvidia and AVGO stock are on the IBD 50.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose 0.3% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.4% and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.4%.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 2.36%.
Crude oil prices fell 2%.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally bounced back from Wednesday's retreat, gaining steam after a NATO meeting without any surprises.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% in Thursday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index popped 1.4%, with Nvidia stock and other chipmakers among the best performers. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.9%. The small-cap Russell 2000 advanced 1.1%.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 2.3% to $112.34 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 2.34%, though off session highs.
ETFs
Among the best ETFs, Innovator IBD 50 rallied 2.2%, while Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities climbed 0.8%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF retreated 0.7%. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor leapt 4.9%. NVDA and AMD stock are major SMH holdings, with Broadcom a significant holding.
The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF gained 2.7%, The Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF advanced 1.2%. U.S. Global Jets ascended 2.1%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders slumped 1.1%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF edged up 0.25%, and the Financial Select SPDR ETF rose 0.8%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund added 1.2%.
Reflecting stocks with more speculative stories, the ARK Innovation ETF rose 1.1% and ARK Genomics tacked on 1.2%, with both trading between their 21-day and 50-day lines. Tesla stock remains the No. 1 holding across Ark Invest's ETFs. Ark Invest also owns some BYD and XPEV shares.
Five Best Chinese Stocks To Watch Now
Nvidia Stock
Nvidia stock jumped 9.8% to 281.50 in heavy volume after pausing for a few days. A trader could have used Thursday's move above this week's highs — roughly coinciding with the early-February peak — to start a new position, but the risks are elevated. Thursday's move was better suited for an add-on buy, if anything.
AMD Stock
AMD stock popped 5.8% to 120.53, moving above the 50-day and 200-day lines. An aggressive trader could have used this as an opportunity to take an early position, but there is a lot of overhead resistance.
AVGO Stock
Broadcom stock advanced 4.5% to 626.43, clearing a 614.74 early entry. AVGO stock is moving up toward the consolidation buy point of 677.86. The relative strength line, the blue line in the charts provided, is close to highs already.
BHP Stock
BHP stock rose 1.8% to 74.27, clearing a cup-with-handle buy point of 73.68. Investors could have taken a position on March 18, as the mining giant broke a downtrend in the handle.
Mining and metal plays have been trending higher, but they are prone to significant pullbacks.
Marathon Petroleum Stock
MPC stock climbed 1.2% to 81.39, closing just below an 81.49 flat-base buy point, according to MarketSmith analysis. Shares hit 81.75 intraday.
Marathon Petroleum is a major U.S. refiner, as well as a petroleum products retailer and transporter, so it isn't as closely tied to crude oil prices as, say, shale oil producers.
Google Stock
Google stock climbed 2.4% to 2,831.44, again bouncing from its 200-day moving average and moving slightly above Tuesday's high. Investors could buy GOOGL stock now as an early entry or as a Long-Term Leader.
ANTM Stock
Anthem stock advanced 2,5% to 473.73, back above buy points at 470.12 and 472.11.
UnitedHealth and Molina Health rose within their buy zones. CVS Health and HCA Healthcare also are working on buy points.
Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Market Rally Analysis
The stock market rally rebounded Thursday, closing near session highs. The Nasdaq led while the S&P 500 moved back above its 200-day moving average. The Dow Jones, little changed for the week, closed above its 50-day line once again.
Sideways action or a modest pullback in the major indexes here wouldn't be a bad thing. It would let stocks finish off bases and form handles, or at least longer resistance areas.
If the market rally doesn't pause here, the major indexes could do so near their early-February peaks.
While it would have been nice for Nvidia stock to pause for a few more days, it's definitely positive to see chip names rebounding. It's hard to see a big tech advance without chip stocks playing a major role.
Energy and commodity plays such as Marathon Petroleum and BHP stock still look strong. Health insurers such as ANTM stock are trading right around buy points. Some biotechs and drugmakers such as Regeneron Pharmaceuticals could be working on handles or high handles. Some networking stocks still look strong.
A few travel plays are trying to forge new consolidations, but could use some more time to widen out their V-shaped patterns.
Among the megacaps, Apple rose for an eighth straight session, still in range from an early entry and close to an official breakout. But a handle, or at least a pause, would be great to see. Google parent Alphabet is offering a buy signal. Tesla stock moved back above the 1,000 level in its eighth straight advance, but could use a handle to offer a lower buy point.
Tesla Vs. BYD: Which Booming EV Giant Is The Better Buy?
What To Do
The stock market rally continues to show strong action, bouncing back from Wednesday's retreat.
There are buying opportunities out there, but many stocks are extended or running up from the bottom. Don't feel compelled to keep adding exposure if you don't like the setups. If you picked up exposure over the prior week, there's nothing wrong with sitting on your hands.
Keep working on those watchlists. Some stocks will come off your lists because they are extended or now lagging. A new crop of stocks is coming to the fore.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
