The Dow Jones Industrial Average was in rally mode near midday Friday, as the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 followed suit. Top gainers on the Dow included Intel and Leaderboard stock Microsoft, while Nvidia outperformed again on the Nasdaq.
Nvidia stock tried to break out of a base Thursday but got pulled down late with the broad market. Early Friday, it was trading just above a 476.09 entry.
The base shows a good shakeout after NVDA stock hit a high of 476.09. It pierced the 400 level in late October and undercut its Sept. 21 intraday low before rallying off lows. Earnings are due Nov. 21 after the close.
Semiconductor stocks were among the day's best performers after Taiwan Semiconductor reported a 16% increase in October revenue. TSM stock jumped more than 5%, while several chip-equipment stocks outperformed.
Among those on the rise was Lam Research, up 5% and poised for its ninth straight gain. Also, KLA topped a 520.19 entry and Applied Materials rose past a 148.40 entry ahead of next week's earnings report.
Dow Jones: Waiting For The Next Uptrend
Gains in the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq ranged from 0.8% to 1.5% around 12:45 p.m. ET after the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 marked distribution days Thursday. The stock market is still in a confirmed uptrend, but it's important to monitor distribution days. If they start to cluster, it can cause problems for an uptrend.
Other outperformers in the Dow Jones included Apple, Boeing and Caterpillar.
Money flowed out of bonds Thursday, sending the 10-year Treasury yield higher by 11 basis points to around 4.63%. Early Friday, the yield edged lower to around 4.62%.
Demand was weak at another 30-year bond auction Thursday, which fueled some pretty heavy selling in the bond market. Also on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he wasn't confident that the Federal Open Market Committee has done enough to bring inflation down.
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Earnings Winners: Light & Wonder, Palo Alto
Earnings winners Friday included gaming equipment firm Light & Wonder. The company, with a market capitalization north of $7 billion, reported a 671% surge in quarterly profit.
Revenue growth was less impressive, up 13% to $731 million, but it was better than the FactSet consensus estimate of $717.3 million. LNW showed bullish technical action by reclaiming a 78.96 handle buy point.
Palo Alto Networks bounced off its 50-day moving average ahead of next week's earnings report. The security software group remains a strong pocket of leadership in the stock market with names like Zscaler, CrowdStrike, CyberArk and Qualys trading well.
Zscaler is a Leaderboard stock. The Leaderboard model portfolio currently is slightly more than 80% invested, holding 12 names.
Oil Stocks Rally
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up 2% to around $77.25 a barrel, helping the cause of MarketSmith Growth 250 stocks like TechnipFMC and Weatherford. FTI stock was up 2% as it holds support at the 50-day line while trading near a 21.67 entry. WFRD stock is in a similar setup with a 97.88 buy point.
Dow Jones stock Chevron edged higher. But CVX stock has been hit hard by institutional selling after gapping below all its key moving averages on Oct. 23.
Advanced Micro Devices, Nutanix and Palantir also moved well among stocks in the MarketSmith Growth 250.
Outside Dow Jones: Big Fall For Trade Desk
Trade Desk fell sharply despite reporting a 27% increase in third-quarter profit. Revenue growth at the ad-buying platform accelerated from second quarter, rising 25% on a year-over-year basis to $493.3 million. But TTD offered a fourth-quarter revenue forecast that was below expectations.
That prompted Morgan Stanley to lower TTD's price target to 70 from 105, though it maintained an overweight rating. Trade Desk closed Thursday at 76.81.
Several other stocks fell sharply Friday after reporting earnings, including casino operator Wynn Resorts, Diageo, Illumina and Unity Software. But Unity turned higher after falling 12% intraday.
Copart was among several stocks in the IBD 50 that rallied at least 2%. It cleared a 17-week consolidation. And IBD 50 firm Duolingo followed through after Thursday's earnings breakout.
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