The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved higher as the stock market built on Wednesday's powerful gain. Legendary investor Warren Buffett boosted Occidental Petroleum after it emerged Berkshire Hathaway snapped up more of its shares. Tesla popped after a bullish analyst note.
A trio of noteworthy stocks managed to stage breakouts amid the bullish action. AstraZeneca, GlobalFoundries and Eli Lilly all passed buy points.
Volatility was down, with the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, slipping about 3%. Volume was running lower on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq compared to the same time Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was virtually flat at 2.19%. Oil spiked higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude jumping almost 8% to about $103 per barrel.
Nasdaq Gains As Growth Stocks Roar
The Nasdaq was making a solid gain of 0.9%. CrowdStrike was among the top winners as it rose more than 7%. MercadoLibre also impressed with a gain of over 5%.
The S&P 500 was almost neck in neck with the Nasdaq as it gained 0.9%. The top stocks here were the energy plays. Marathon Oil was among the strongest names as it popped nearly 7%.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 34342.84 | +279.74 | +0.82 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4396.16 | +38.30 | +0.88 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 13562.63 | +126.08 | +0.94 |
| Russell 2000 | 204.78 | +2.84 | +1.41 | |
| IBD 50 | 38.28 | +0.75 | +2.00 | |
Last Update: 2:52 PM ET 3/17/2022 |
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The S&P sectors were nearly all green, with energy and materials making the best gains. Consumer staples and technology were the laggards.
Small caps were outshining the major indexes. The Russell 2000 rose 1.4%.
But it was growth stocks that were giving the bears the stiffest spanking. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF, a bellwether for growth stocks, rose 2%.
Dow Stock Leads Dow Jones Higher
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lagging, but still popped almost 300 points. This equates to a 0.8% gain.
It was being led higher by namesake stock Dow Inc, which rose nearly 5%.
American Express was also flourishing, rising nearly 3%. Fast food favorite McDonald's was the worst laggard, but it was only down around 1%.
Warren Buffett Drives OXY Stock Higher
Occidental Petroleum was moving bullishly amid popping oil prices and news that Warren Buffett has increased his share in the firm. It gained more than 10%, and volume is rising more than 75% above average levels, according to MarketSmith.
OXY stock remains well extended from its most recent base. It broke out from a cup base in mid-January. The ideal entry point was 35.85, MarketSmith analysis shows.
A Wednesday filing with the SEC showed Buffett's firm Berkshire Hathaway had snapped up an additional 18.1 million OXY shares. The document also said the firm had paid a weighted average of $54.41 per share. Thus, the total cost came in at $985 million.
Other energy stocks were also faring well. Devon Energy was also up more than 8% while APA surged more than 6%.
Tesla Stock Surges After Analyst Call
Tesla stock managed to rise nearly 4% amid the bullish action. This saw it move back above the 200-day moving average.
Given recent action though a longer period of consolidation could be in the cards for TSLA stock.
Tesla was boosted comes after Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on the stock.
But while the investment bank said there is "tremendous potential for fully autonomous vehicles" it also said that investor expectations for adoption in the near term are overly enthusiastic.
The EV giant's performance helped the ARK Innovation, an exchange traded fund led by Cathie Wood, power more than 4% higher.
Tesla stock is a member of the prestigious IBD Leaderboard list of leading stocks.
These Three Stocks Pass Buy Points
Eli Lilly caught the eye after it powered past a cup base with a proper buy point of 284 in solid, but not outstanding, volume. The RS line is also at new heights here.
Profits surged amid the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, the pharma stock boasts a diversified portfolio of drugs in addition to its Covid-19 treatment.
Lilly also now holds a small position in IBD Leaderboard.
Pharmaceutical stock AstraZeneca pass a cup with handle's entry of 82.74, though the move was made in lower volume than usual.
Overall performance is solid, and big money has been snapping up shares in recent weeks.
This Tech IPO Breaks Out
IPO stock GlobalFoundries is actionable after surging past a 73.35 cup entry, but shares have pulled off session highs.
GFS has spurted as much as 30% higher in just three sessions, so traders could expect a short-term pullback.
The stock started trading in October and the stock is seen improving on a loss of 5 cents per share in 2021 to a profit of $1.87 per share in 2022.
Now is a good time to be opening new positions in the stock market. Nevertheless, a gradual approach is recommended due to the heightened risk of pullbacks due to ongoing volatility.
Please follow Michael Larkin on Twitter at @IBD_MLarkin for more on growth stocks and analysis.
