The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Wednesday morning, looking to extend the market uptrend into June following Tuesday's pause. Salesforce surged on better-than-expected earnings results. Meanwhile, Treasury yields and U.S. oil prices continued their recent rises.
On the earnings front, Ambarella and HP were key movers after reporting late Tuesday. Ambarella slid 6%, while HPQ stock rose almost 3%. Meanwhile, market information and credit rating leader S&P Global dived 10%, after suspending its previously issued guidance due to market volatility.
Electric-vehicle giant Tesla traded up 1% Wednesday morning. Elsewhere, Dow Jones tech leaders Apple and Microsoft were both moderately higher in today's stock market.
Amid a stock market rally, Dow Jones leaders Chevron and Merck — along with Albemarle, Eli Lilly, Northrop Grumman, World Wrestling Entertainment and ZIM Integrated Shipping — are among IBD's top stocks to buy and watch for Wednesday.
Albemarle and WWE are IBD Leaderboard stocks. And Albemarle was featured in this week's Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. ZIM was last week's featured IPO Leader.
Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices
After Wednesday's open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 1% in morning trade. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust moved up 1%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF rose 0.4%.
The 10-year Treasury yield extended Tuesday's gains, rising to 2.84% Wednesday morning. Last week, the 10-year Treasury yield hit its lowest level since mid-April, but is now rebounding. Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices rose more than 2% as West Texas Intermediate crude traded just above $117 a barrel.
The market could see some impact from a pair of manufacturing gauges due out just after the open from Markit and the Institute For Supply Management. The manufacturing PMI for May came in at 57.0, lighter than the 57.5 consensus estimate.
New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams and President James Bullard of the St. Louis Fed speak at 11:30 a.m. ET and 1 p.m. ET, respectively. The Federal Reserve releases its beige book report for May at 2 p.m. ET.
Stock Market Rally
On Tuesday, the major stock indexes showed modest losses, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.4%. The Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 dropped 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
Tuesday's The Big Picture column commented, "What makes the action especially unusual? On Friday, the Nasdaq met the criteria for a follow-through for a second straight session. Indeed, that's more favorable than seeing the market run into a wall of sellers so soon after the confirmation that, at the minimum, a short-term trading opportunity has popped. And given the extensive damage seen among former leaders in tech, retail, medical tech and other sectors, it surely may take a long while before investors see fistfuls of strong breakout opportunities among stocks that carry most if not all of the CAN SLIM characteristics."
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.
Dow Jones Earnings: Salesforce
Late Tuesday, Salesforce reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales results. The company also posted an outlook that came in below expectations.
CRM stock jumped more than 11% early Wednesday. Shares finished Tuesday nearly 50% off their 52-week high.
Five Dow Jones Stocks To Watch Now
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: Chevron, Merck
Dow Jones leader and energy giant Chevron is trading just below a flat base's 174.86 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis, following Tuesday's 2% drop. The 5% buy zone tops out at 183.60. CVX shares rose 1.4% Wednesday.
CVX stock boasts a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating, per the IBD Stock Checkup. Investors can use the IBD Composite Rating to easily gauge the quality of a stock's fundamental and technical metrics.
Merck, a Dow Jones stock, is still in buy range past a cup-with-handle's 89.58 buy point, as shares fell 1.1% Tuesday. The 5% buy area goes up to 94.06. MRK shares lost 0.5% Wednesday morning.
The stock's relative strength line hit a new high last week, a strong indicator of stock market outperformance during the current stock market rally.
Four Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: Albemarle, Eli Lilly, Northrop, WWE, ZIM
Albemarle is approaching a cup base's buy point at 291.58, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Keep an eye out for a potential handle to offer a lower entry. Last week, Albemarle passed an early buy point near 248. ALB shares dropped 3% Wednesday morning, set to extend Tuesday's losses.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly dropped 3.1% Tuesday, falling back below a flat base's 314.10 buy point after Friday's short-lived breakout. It topped an early buy trigger at 309.54 last week. Eli Lilly shares were roughly unchanged Wednesday.
Northrop Grumman is just shy of a cup with handle's 477.36 buy point, as it finds support around its key 50-day line. The defense contractor also is rising above a trend line within its handle. This early entry sits around 464. NOC shares were up 0.6% Wednesday morning.
IBD Leaderboard stock World Wrestling Entertainment is one of the top stocks to watch after it closed Tuesday just in buy range above a flat base's 63.81 buy point. The 5% buy area went up to 67. WWE shares rose more than 1% Wednesday.
IPO Leader ZIM Integrated is tracing a cup base that has a 79.05 buy point. Shares are about 15% away from the correct buy point after Tuesday's stumble. A potential handle could be forming now. ZIM shares traded up 1.2% Wednesday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock eased 0.2% lower Tuesday, snapping a three-day win streak. Shares looked to snap back from those losses, rising 1% Wednesday morning. Despite last week's gains, the stock remains sharply below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
Tesla stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4. Shares are about 40% off that record high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares lost 0.5% Tuesday. The stock remains far below its long-term 200-day line. AAPL stock traded up 1% Wednesday.
Software leader Microsoft fell 0.5% Tuesday, and remains sharply below its 50- and 200-day lines. The stock closed about 22% off its 52-week high. MSFT shares were up 1.7% Wednesday.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
