Buyers lifted the major stock indexes to session highs in late-afternoon trading Friday ahead of holiday weekend. McDonald's was a top gainer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but Intel stock lagged badly. Homebuilders outperformed in the S&P 500 as interest rates dropped again.
PulteGroup, Lennar and D.R. Horton powered higher in the S&P 500 with gains ranging from 4% to 6%. After dropping 12 basis points Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield was down another 9 basis points in late trading to 2.89%.
August WTI crude oil futures settled at $108.43 a barrel, up 2.5%. Natural gas and gasoline futures also rebounded after some harsh selling Thursday. Bitcoin climbed above the $19,000 level, rising more than 2%.
Dow Jones Today
The Dow Jones industrials held a modest gain. Besides McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Boeing were top gainers. But Intel shares were down 3%. Sentiment was weak in the sector after Micron Technology reported earnings and lowered its outlook for the current quarter. Revenue growth decelerated again at Micron but still rose 16% to just over $8.6 billion.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 30986.23 | +210.80 | +0.68 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 3808.18 | +22.80 | +0.60 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 11070.26 | +41.52 | +0.38 |
| Russell 2000 | 170.83 | +1.47 | +0.87 | |
| IBD 50 | 26.56 | -0.29 | -1.08 | |
Last Update: 2:40 PM ET 7/1/2022 |
||||
Coca-Cola moved above its 50-day moving average and Tuesday's high, rising around 2%. But Home Depot and Boeing stock are still stuck on lengthy downtrends.
The Nasdaq composite held up reasonably well amid broad-based selling in semiconductor stocks. Nvidia, Qualcomm showed losses of at least 3%, while Advanced Micro Devices dipped 3%. Top gainers in the Nasdaq 100 included security software stocks, CrowdStrike, Okta and Zscaler.
Volume was light ahead of the three-day weekend.
In other stock market news, Kohl's gapped down sharply after the company said it's no longer for sale. In early June, Franchise Group offered 60 a share to acquire Kohl's. But Franchise Group lowered the offer to 53 a share amid an increasingly grim outlook for the retail sector. Kohl's is considering ways the company can monetize its real estate.
Shipping stocks came under more selling pressure with the group down about 3%. Eagle Bulk Shipping, which had been struggling for support at the 200-day moving average, crashed more than 8% and is now firmly below the longer-term support level. Zim Integrated Shipping also took a hit, down 8%. Star Bulk Carriers slumped more than 6% as it tests support at the 200-day line.
5 Nasdaq Stocks To Watch Today
Inside the IBD 50, Harmony Biosciences firmed up at its 10-day moving average after a three-session slide. Shares were up more than 4% as it vies for a breakout from an early-stage base. Keep in mind, though, it's still a very difficult market environment to expect breakouts to have staying power. Breakouts have the best chance of succeeding when new institutional money is coming in from the sidelines, and that's not happening now.
Biotechs Show More Strength
Outside the Dow Jones industrials, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is also performing well in the biotech group. After a bullish move above its 50-day moving average, VRTX stock is still in buy range from a 279.23 entry. Vertex is a member of Leaderboard.
Corcept Pharmaceuticals, Neurocrine Biosciences and Royalty Pharma are also acting well in the group with bullish charts.
Property and casualty insurer Kinsale Capital also outperformed in the IBD 50, but early gains faded. Shares were still gaining more than 2% after a breakout attempt over its recent high of 238.65. KNSL hit an intraday high of 240.70.
Aspen Technology, one of the last software stocks left standing in the market, outperformed in the MarketSmith Growth 250, Shares bounced nicely off the 50-day moving average, rising more than 3%.
Follow Ken Shreve on Twitter @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis.
