The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at session highs even as Magnificent Seven stocks like Meta Platforms, Tesla and Apple fell. Warren Buffett stock Snowflake surged clear of a buy point. Meanwhile, Macy's rocketed amid buyout reports.
A number of noteworthy stocks were testing entries Monday. Rev Group, Electronic Arts and Ralph Lauren all cleared buy points.
Nasdaq Reverses Higher, Growth Stocks Shine
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fought its way out of the red but only managed to squeeze out a 0.2% gain. Broadcom was a top performer here as it jumped 9% after Citi gave the stock a buy rating with a 1,100 price target.
The benchmark S&P 500 fared better, closing up 0.4%. Cigna surged 16.7% after it abandoned its attempt to acquire competitor Humana.
Nearly all of the S&P 500 sectors ended the day in positive territory. Industrials and consumer staples fared best on the stock market today. Only communication services gave up ground.
Small caps lagged but the Russell 2000 still gained 0.1%. Growth stocks excelled, as the Innovator IBD 50 ETF gained 0.6%.
Dow Jones Today: Nike Stock, Intel Shine
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fared best out of the major indexes as it rose 157 points. This equates to a 0.4% lift.
Intel was the top performer on the much-watched index as it popped 4.2%. It now sits clear of its short-term moving averages and the 50-day line.
Honeywell International and Nike also fared well. HON rose 3% while NKE gained 2.3%.
Verizon Communications and UnitedHealth were among the weakest performers in the Dow Jones today. VZ fell 1.5% while UNH dipped 1.1%.
Warren Buffett Stock Clears Entry
It is always a good idea to keep a close eye on stocks held by top investors that are passing buy points.
Snowflake, which is held by Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway, has cleared a 192.66 cup-with-handle buy point.
It closed slightly above the entry and in the 5% buy zone, which runs up to 202.93.
The relative strength line has been ticking upward, an encouraging sign. The stock also sits clear of its 50-day line and its shorter-term moving averages. Overall performance is excellent, which is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 96 out of 99.
The company has posted multiple quarters of triple-digit or better earnings growth in the fiscal 2023 year ended last January. Since hitting a low for the year of 119.27 on Jan. 6, the stock has rallied about 62%.
In the most recent quarter, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway held 6.13 million shares of Snowflake. The Oracle of Omaha has tended to stay away from risky tech bets in the past.
Macy's Stock Soars On Buyout News
Stocks can make explosive moves when news of a potential takeover emerges.
And this was the case for Macy's, which soared 19.4% on news that it received a buyout offer from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management for $5.8 billion.
The takeover bid comes as the retailer struggles to turn in good earnings reports, with its EPS Rating coming it at a dismal 8 out of 99.
Nevertheless, money flooded into M stock today, with the stock soaring in massive volume. Macy's stock was already seeing plenty of high-volume buying, with its Accumulation/Distribution Rating coming in at A.
Magnificent Seven: Apple Stock, Tesla Struggle
The so-called Magnificent Seven stocks are seeing a challenging start to the week.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms got hit the hardest as it fell 2.2%.
The Leaderboard stock has been finding support at its 50-day moving average so far as it undergoes a period of consolidation.
Nvidia was the next worst performer as it fell 1.9%. But the AI stock remains above its 50-day line.
Tesla stock fell 1.3%. The EV maker continues to find support near its 50-day line as it forms a double-bottom base with a buy point of 278.98.
Google parent Alphabet also lagged, dropping 1.3%. It's testing support at the 50-day line. Apple stock suffered an identical decline and slipped just below a 192.93 entry.
E-commerce giant Amazon.com fell 1% while Microsoft dropped 0.8%.
Outside Dow Jones: Three Stocks Test Buy Points
Rev Group is in a buy zone after clearing a cup-base buy point of 16.54. This is a first-stage pattern. Earnings and the stock's price performance are strong. Nevertheless, its earnings are due Wednesday and trading a stock just ahead of earnings is risky.
An approach highlighted by Investor's Business Daily is to use options as a strategy to reduce risk around earnings. It's a way to capitalize on the upside potential of a stock's move around earnings, while reducing the downside risk.
Meanwhile, Electronic Arts has cleared a cup-with-handle entry of 138.45 on its weekly chart. The video gaming giant has been seeing its relative strength line move sideways of late. But overall good performance is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 90.
Ralph Lauren has cleared a cup-with-handle base entry of 134.25 on its weekly chart. This comes after it cleared an earlier handle entry of 125.69.
RL stock is in the top 16% of stocks in terms of price performance over the past 12 months. Earnings are not ideal, though, with its EPS Rating coming at 67.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
