The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved mildly higher Friday after opening negative. Strong earnings from Apple gave the Dow a boost, and the blue chip index is fighting to finish the week higher. The Nasdaq composite led the upside as the technology sector outperformed. But it and the Nasdaq 100 still harbor losses for the week with late-afternoon trading to go.
Stock Market Today
Indexes have recently been erasing early gains and closing near session lows, which is a bearish signal. However in today's market, the major indexes erased early losses and pushed higher. The Dow Jones industrials was up 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.7% and the S&P 500 advanced 1.2%.
The Russell 2000 gained 0.2% as small caps were clearly the weakest major index. Volume was running a shade higher on the Nasdaq vs. the same time Thursday and rose on the NYSE, according to IBD data. This is also a good sign for stock market bulls. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF traded near break-even.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 34360.06 | +199.28 | +0.58 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4377.33 | +50.82 | +1.17 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 13585.01 | +232.23 | +1.74 |
| Russell 2000 | 191.87 | +0.35 | +0.18 | |
| IBD 50 | 36.68 | +0.06 | +0.16 | |
Last Update: 1:40 PM ET 1/28/2022 |
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Stocks are on track to close out the trading month on Monday.
Despite Friday's encouraging intraday action, the S&P 500 is on pace for its weakest month since March 2020 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq could see its worst month since October 2008.
IBD's market outlook remains "market in correction," which requires investors to raise cash and maintain minimal exposure at this time.
Dow Jones Boosted By Visa, Apple Earnings
As for Dow Jones stocks, component Visa led the upside with gains of roughly 8%. Late Thursday, the credit card and debit card processing company's fiscal Q1 results beat Wall Street estimates for sales and earnings per share.
Visa reported earnings came in at $1.83 a share, topping estimates for $1.70 a share, according to FactSet. CEO Al Kelly cited strong growth in e-commerce transactions, better-than-expected cross-border travel revenue, and a broad-based economic recovery as the cause.
Meanwhile, Apple climbed 2.6% after the company's earnings and revenue cruised past expectations for the December-ended quarter. EPS of $2.10 a share on sales of $123.9 billion surpassed projections for earnings of $1.90 a share on sales of $119 billion.
Shares rose well over 5% and are hitting some resistance at the 50-day moving average; so, investors should watch for a break back above this key level of support.
Shares narrowly escaped the round-trip sell signal this week after erasing a nearly 20% gain from the 153.26 buy point.
On the downside, Caterpillar and Chevron declined the most with losses of 5.6% and 4.4%, respectively.
Outside Dow Jones: Ship Transport Group's Notable Moves
Two stocks from the MarketSmith Growth 250 index broke out on Friday, including Danaos and Global Ship Lease. Danaos moved above an 89.51 cup entry as shares gained over 3%. The stock is holding a 14% gain for the week. It also triggered the RS line blue dot alert on MarketSmith.
Danaos is part of the shipping transportation industry group, which currently ranks No. 7 of the 197 groups IBD measures, indicating solid market leadership. The breakout occurred in strong volume, which is a good sign, but shares faded slightly from the buy point in afternoon trading.
Elsewhere, Global Ship Lease, another shipping transportation stock, broke out from a 25.59 cup-with-handle entry. The stock's RS line also notched a new high alongside the breakout. Volume has been slightly stronger than usual in recent rising sessions, a sign of strength.
Follow Rachel Fox on Twitter at @IBD_RFox for more Dow Jones and stock market commentary.
