The Dow Jones Industrial Average pared early gains in afternoon trading Friday as Wall Street weighed the latest inflation report. Blue chips held up relatively well despite an earnings sell-off for Intel stock, which was down more than 10%.
Late Thursday, Intel reported a 260% jump in quarterly profit. Revenue growth accelerated from Q3, but the company guided Q1 earnings and revenue well below expectations.
American Express was a bright spot in the Dow Jones today. AXP stock jumped 7.6% after the company reported a 27% rise in Q4 profit. Revenue increased 11% to $15.8 billion. For the full year 2023, revenue rose 15% to $60.2 billion. American Express also raised its full-year profit forecast to $12.65 to $13.15 a share, at the midpoint higher than the $12.38 consensus.
AXP stock is now extended after a successful test of its 10-week moving average.
Sellers knocked Dow Jones stock Visa lower early, but the payments firm moved off lows and held support at its 21-day exponential moving average. Shares were down just over 1% in the stock market today after the company reported a slowdown in earnings and revenue growth. Adjusted profit increased 11% to $2.41 a share, with revenue up 9% to $8.6 billion. Payments volume rose 8%, while processed transactions increased 9%. Cross-border transactions jumped 16%.
Outside The Dow Jones
In economic news, the latest Personal Spending & Outlays report showed more good news on the inflation front. The core Personal Consumption Expenditures index fell to 2.9%, better than the 3% consensus and also below November's reading of 3.2%. The latest data comes after Thursday's Q4 GDP report, which showed more cooling inflation.
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The 10-year Treasury yield didn't move much after the inflation data. The yield was up 2 basis point to 4.15% just after 1 p.m. ET. Fed funds futures traders are still split about the first Fed rate cut coming in at the March meeting. But traders have fully priced in a quarter-point cut for the May meeting.
After five straight record closing highs, the S&P 500 edged lower by 0.2%. Amide broad-based selling in the semiconductor sector, the Nasdaq 100 was near session lows, down 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4%.
Early gainers in the Nasdaq 100 included MercadoLibre, Netflix and Airbnb with gains of around 2%. MELI stock is holding gains well after its Jan. 12 breakout. Netflix extended gains after gapping up on earnings earlier in the week.
Dexcom and KLA lagged in the Nasdaq 100 with a loss of 3% and 6%, respectively.
Dexcom fell to its 50-day line and is holding support so far. KLAC reported quarterly earnings, which came with sluggish guidance.
Tesla edged up 0.2%. But it was a feeble bounce after shares tumbled 12% Thursday on soft Q4 results.
Breadth was positive by less than 2-to-1 on both major exchanges.
Stock Market Movers
Nike also outperformed in the Dow jones today, up nearly 2%. But NKE stock remains on a downtrend after selling off on earnings in December.
Booz Allen Hamilton gapped out of a flat base after the company reported a 32% rise in quarterly profit and 13% revenue increase. The consulting firm that caters to defense and intelligence markets also gave bullish guidance.
Inside the MarketSmith Growth 250, Pinterest gapped up after an orderly pullback to its 10-week line. Early gains faded, but shares still rose 2%. The stock continues to act well after an earnings-driven breakout Oct. 31.
Online real estate firm Zillow was another early gainer in the MarketSmith Growth 250, up more than 3%. After a low-volume pullback, Z also found support at its 10-week line, putting the stock in an alternate buy zone. The new entry, however, is still below the 57.19 buy point of a Dec. 19 breakout.
Brazilian fintech and Leaderboard stock XP bounced back after two days of volatile price action.
Follow Ken Shreve on X/Twitter @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
