The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly dropped 300 points Friday on renewed banking fears. U.S. shares of Germany's Deutsche Bank plunged more than 10% after concerned investors drove the bank's credit default swaps, which insure against bond failure, to a four-year high. The panic sent investors fleeing into bonds, driving yields lower. Meanwhile, energy stocks crowded the bottom of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 as oil prices swooned.
Among U.S. banks, JPMorgan Chase lost 1.4% while Citigroup declined 1.8%. And Wells Fargo fell 1.7%. The SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF dropped 2.1%, with First Republic Bank down more than 4%. (For our latest coverage of the market's action, go to our Stock Market Today page.)
On the economic front, February durable goods orders from the Commerce Department fell 1% for the month. Wall Street saw durable goods orders rising 1.5% for the month vs. January's 4.5% drop. Further, the S&P Global's preliminary Purchasing Managers' Manufacturing and Services Indexes for March came out.
The manufacturing index posted a better-than-expected 49.3 reading vs. the 47.2 estimates, while the services index measured 53.8, higher than the 50.3 estimate.
Finally, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is scheduled to speak around the market open Friday.
Stock Market Today
Electric-vehicle giant Tesla declined 1.7% Friday, following a modest recall in China and after Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management dumped $26.8 million worth of Tesla shares on Thursday. Dow Jones tech giants Apple and Microsoft were lower after today's stock market open.
Align Technology, IBD SwingTrader stock Meta Platforms and IBD Leaderboard Palo Alto Networks — as well as Dow Jones stocks Nike and Salesforce — are among the top stocks to watch in the ongoing stock market correction.
Palo Alto is an IBD Leaderboard stock. Microsoft is featured in this week's Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. And Meta is an IBD SwingTrader stock. Palo Alto, Align, Microsoft and Meta were all recent IBD Stock Of The Day subjects.
Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields
After Friday's opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite, which does not track oil or financial stocks, dropped 0.3% in morning action.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust fell 0.8% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF moved down 0.7% early Friday.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield on Thursday slipped to 3.4%, falling sharply for a second-straight session. The 10-year yield is near its lowest level since early February. On Friday, the 10-year continued lower, falling to 3.29%.
U.S. oil prices shifted sharply lower, as West Texas Intermediate traded down 3.6% to just above $67 a barrel. WTI futures are defending a mild gain for the week, after touching their lowest level since November 2021 on Monday.
Stock Market Correction
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rallied as much as 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively, before closing with modest gains of 0.2% and 0.3%. Both briefly turned lower in afternoon trade before a late-day bounce. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shrank an early 2.5% gain down to 1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 was a laggard, reversing 0.4% lower.
Thursday's Big Picture column commented, "The stock market ended higher but well off session highs Thursday, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen established that the U.S. government is ready to take 'additional action if warranted' to stabilize the banking sector."
Now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column amid the ongoing stock market correction.
Five Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch Now
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: Nike, Salesforce
Since bottoming on Oct. 3, Nike shares have rallied as much as 59% to their recent high at 131.31. Now the stock is consolidating within a flat base that offers a 131.41 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition.
Amid Thursday's 1.2% gain, the stock is again consolidating back below its 50-day moving average, a key benchmark. NKE stock moved down 0.7% early Friday.
In recent weeks, Dow Jones leader Salesforce showed big upside strength after strong fourth-quarter results. The stock is now above a 178.94 cup-with-handle entry after recent big gains. Still, the market is in a correction, so investors should avoid new purchases until the market environment improves. CRM stock fell 0.4% early Friday.
3 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Correction
Top Stocks To Watch: Align, Meta, Palo Alto
Align Technology continues to trace a consolidation that has multiple buy points: a 357.10 early entry and a conventional entry at 368.97. Shares fell 0.7% Friday morning.
Backstory: The company makes clear teeth-straightening systems called Invisalign. UBS analyst Kevin Caliendo says investors recently regained confidence in Align stock, which has surged 50% this year. December-ended quarter results from Align and its competitors, management commentary, U.S. economic data and a recent uptick in demand for Invisalign cases support this view, he said in a note to clients.
Backstory: Like social media rivals, Meta is struggling due to a sharp reduction in advertising revenue as clients squirm over macroeconomic concerns, recession fears and higher interest rates. This is happening as it spends billions of dollars on a risky bet to build the "metaverse," a virtual reality world that has yet to take hold.
IBD Leaderboard stock Palo Alto Networks reclaimed its 192.94 buy point out of a cup with handle during Thursday's 1.6% move higher. The buy area runs up to 202.59. PANW stock traded down 0.6% Friday.
Backstory: Through acquisitions, Palo Alto Networks has expanded into endpoint security and vulnerability management. Endpoint tools detect malware on laptops, mobile phones and other devices that access corporate networks.
Learn How To Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Stocks To Watch In Stock Market Correction
These are four top stocks to watch in today's stock market, including two Dow Jones leaders.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Buy Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms | 197.26 | Flat base | |
| Nike | 131.41 | Flat base | |
| Palo Alto Networks | 192.94 | Cup with handle | |
| Salesforce | 178.94 | Cup with handle |
Source: IBD Data As Of March 23, 2023
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market correction on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock rose 0.6% Thursday, bouncing a bit after Wednesday's 3.25% skid. Shares continue to rebound from their 50-day moving average. Shares closed Thursday around 50% off their 52-week high.
TSLA stock lost 1.7% Friday morning, as it threatened to give up Thursday's gains.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares climbed 0.7% Thursday, recovering a large part of Wednesday's decline. AAPL stock fell 0.4% Friday.
Microsoft shares are again trying to break out above a flat base's 276.86 buy point with a 2% gain Thursday. MSFT stock lost 0.6% early Friday.
Microsoft shares surged last week after the company announced that it is adding artificial intelligence tools to its popular Office productivity applications. That follows the company's investments in AI startup OpenAI, the firm behind the buzzy ChatGPT application.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
