Dow Jones futures were little changed early Wednesday, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures fell slightly. CrowdStrike headlined a busy Tuesday night earnings lineup. The Fed's favorite inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, is on tap.
The stock market rally saw modest gains on the major indexes Tuesday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 hitting fresh highs. That's despite President-elect Donald Trump vowing big new tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. Bitcoin fell solidly again, with MicroStrategy leading crypto plays lower.
Most stocks retreated Tuesday, but megacap techs did relatively well after lagging in recent days.
Amazon.com rose nicely within a buy zone. Apple is just below a buy point while Meta Platforms is near a potential early entry. Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft, which have been struggling, reclaimed key levels Tuesday. Nvidia edged higher, but came well off highs.
The video embedded in the article discusses Tuesday's stock market action and analyzes Amazon stock, Constellation Energy and MercadoLibre
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures were just above fair value. S&P 500 futures lost 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 0.2%.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.26%. Bitcoin rebounded back above $93,500.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 2.3% Wednesday amid renewed hopes for fresh China stimulus, amid new Trump tariff threats.
Before the open, investors will get October durable goods and weekly jobless claims, as well as revised GDP figures for Q3. The October core PCE price index, the Fed's favorite inflation gauge will come at 10 a.m. ET.
Remember that premarket action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Key Earnings
CrowdStrike and fellow software makers Workday, Nutanix and Autodesk reported Tuesday night, tech hardware giants Dell Technologies and HP Inc., vision-chip maker Ambarella and upscale department store operator Nordstrom.
Ambarella stock skyrocketed early Wednesday, signaling a 52-week high after closing in buy range. Nutanix stock jumped, with the storage software maker set to clear an alternate handle entry.
On the downside, Dell stock, Workday, Autodesk and HP Inc. sold off. Dell had been modestly above a buy point while Workday and HPQ stock had been close. CrowdStrike declined modestly, coming off lows CrowdStrike stock was extended from a cup-with-handle buy point, but in range of an alternate handle entry. Nordstrom stock fell slightly from just below a buy point.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally saw gains on the major indexes, despite weak breadth, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 setting new highs. Trump tariff threats are a concern for Wall Street, but investors seem to be taking a wait-and-see vs. a wait-and-hear approach for now.
Megacaps buoyed the major indexes, while Israel-Lebanon permanent cease-fire was announced late in the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% in Tuesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%. The small-cap Russell 2000 gave up 0.7%.
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF rose a fraction, setting a record close.
The First Trust Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index ETF dipped 0.4% from Monday's all-time levels.
U.S. crude oil prices edged down 0.25% to $68.77 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 4 basis points to 4.3%, after tumbling 15 basis points on Monday. Trump tariff threats raise the possibility of higher inflation and fewer Fed rate cuts. Fed minutes from the Nov. 6-7 meeting released on Wednesday reiterated that policymakers are looking to cut rates "gradually," with no discussion of Trump policies for now.
Bitcoin, MicroStrategy Stock Plunge
Bitcoin tumbled 4.1% to $90,982.08 as of 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, continuing to back off from just shy of $100,000 on Friday. The bitcoin price is still up sharply in November.
MicroStrategy stock sold off 12.3% to 353.69, but found support just above the 21-day line. The leveraged bitcoin play has plunged nearly 35% from its Nov. 21 record high of 543. MSTR stock remains up almost 65% just in November and 460% for the year.
MSTR stock bounced Wednesday along with the bitcoin price.
Megacap Techs
Amazon stock popped 3.2% to 207.87 on Tuesday, rising with a buy zone after just reclaiming the 201.20 consolidation buy point on Monday.
Meta stock climbed 1.5% to 573.54, just below the 50-day line within a flat base. A clear move above that level could be actionable.
Apple stock advanced 0.9% to 235.06, nearing a 237.49 buy point from a flat base right next to another base, according to MarketSurge analysis. Shares have made a three-day advance from the 50-day line.
Google parent Alphabet rose 0.9%, reclaiming its 50-day line after last week's sell-off. Microsoft, which has lagged for months, gained 2.2%, back above its 50-day and 200-day lines.
Nvidia stock edged up 0.6% to 136.86, coming off early highs after trying to move back toward the 140.76 buy point. NVDA, which tumbled 4.2% on Monday, is still holding the 50-day line.
Nvidia and Meta stock are on IBD Leaderboard. Microsoft stock is on IBD Long-Term Leaders. Nvidia stock is on the IBD 50.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF rose 0.6%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF gained 0.4%, with Microsoft stock a major holding. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF fell 0.9%, with Nvidia stock the dominant component.
ARK Innovation ETF retreated 1.5% and ARK Genomics ETF lost 0.9%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF declined 0.9%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF gave up 1.9%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF dipped 0.2% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund rose 0.5%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund inched 0.1% higher. The Financial Select SPDR ETF edged up 0.2%.
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What To Do Now
The stock market rally is still acting well. Much of the strength has been outside the megacap techs, though Amazon and a few others showed strength Tuesday.
After big gains since Election Day, investors don't need to ramp up exposure. Be patient, and picky. Don't buy extended stocks or the third- or fourth-tier names flashing buy signals while group leaders are well advanced.
Keep working on watchlists while looking at your portfolio for laggards that you might peel off.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
