The stock market reversed lower in afternoon trading in a day of sharp changes in market direction. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell this morning affirmed he sees the need for a firm stance on fighting inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went from a midday gain to a loss of 0.3%. The S&P 500 also fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.5% as indexes fluctuated. The small-cap Russell 2000 also lost gains and was down 0.2%.
Volume rose on the NYSE and Nasdaq compared to the same time yesterday.
Crude oil stabilized and traded 2% higher at $83.46 a barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury ticked 2 basis points higher to 3.28%.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF outperformed the stock market with a gain of 0.5%.
Initial jobless claims were 222,000, lower than the revised number of 228,000 for the week ended Aug. 27. The four-week moving average declined to 233,000 from 240,500 last week. Continuing claims rose 36,000, however, to 1.473 million as of Aug. 27, indicating a cooling job market. Other indicators of softening were seen in the ISM employment components which have trended lower in recent months.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 31768.65 | +187.37 | +0.59 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4006.48 | +27.61 | +0.69 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 11890.15 | +98.25 | +0.83 |
| Russell 2000 | 183.12 | +0.92 | +0.50 | |
| IBD 50 | 27.89 | +0.45 | +1.64 | |
Last Update: 10:28 AM ET 9/8/2022 |
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Powell called for firmness today and showed he's committed to tempering growth in order to achieve the target inflation rate of 2%. He also said that it can be done without a high social cost.
Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, says that inflation data on September will be pivotal to the Fed's action Sept. 21. CPI numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are due Sept. 13.
Chief Economist at Comerica Bill Adams observes that labor demand is coming down but risk of a recession remains high over the next few quarters. China's economic contraction and the erupting energy crisis as Europe heads toward winter also pose recessionary risks overseas.
The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points this morning. The aim is to front-load its attempt to achieve a medium term inflation rate of 2%. The bank has reversed a prolonged era of negative interest rates policy that sought to encourage consumer spending since 2014.
European stocks also reversed higher, with the German DAX nearly flat while the Paris CAC 40 and the London FTSE 100 climbed 0.3%.
Stocks Moving Today
EV giant Tesla boosted its Shanghai deliveries to 76,965 in August. Shares are adding to yesterday's 3.4% gain.
In the elite IBD 50 list, Daqo New Energy fell nearly 8%. Cross Country Healthcare is near a breakout with a buy point of 27.87, while Waste Connections remains in a buy zone with a buy point of 144.56.
Wesco International is approaching a buy point of 144.39 in a double-bottom base.
Costco reclaimed its 50-day line Wednesday. The stock has strong Composite and Relative Strength Ratings of 90. Shares are trading below a buy point of 552.81 in a cup-with-handle base.
Biotech firm Revance Therapeutics has broken out past resistance around 23 and is nearly 10% above its buy point of 20.84 in a cup base.
Meme stock GameStop surged nearly 8%. Earnings came out Wednesday and a loss of 35 cents a share was better than views of 42 cents per share. Revenue of $1.136 billion was lower than $1.183 billion a year ago but higher than estimates of $1.27 billion.
The meme play also has partnered with crypto exchange FTX and extended its foray into non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Earlier, it opened an NFT marketplace after launching a GameStop digital wallet.
Market Rally Runs Right To Resistance; 2 Ex-Leaders Jump
Stock Market Movers In Dow Jones
Bank of America Securities increased its price target for Boeing to 175 while maintaining a neutral rating. The Dow Jones component has restarted delivering the 787 Dreamliner, whose success with short routes helped generate free cash flows for the company.
Shares of the Dow Jones component are poking above the 50-day line, up 0.7% in morning trading at 156.98 — well below BofA's price target.
Deutsche Bank's Emmanuel Papadakis upgraded Moderna to a buy from a hold with a 165 price target. Shares rose more than 4% early Thursday.
Shares of Pinterest got a boost after a Wolfe Research upgrade to outperform with a 28 price target. Wolfe analyst Deepak Mathivanan sees growth in monthly average users and revenue driving the stock up over the next 12-18 months. Shares rose over 6% in Wednesday's trading and are higher by 2% today.
Electronic Arts received a downgrade to neutral from buy from MKM Partners' Erik Handler. Shares are flat after triggering a sell rule from their buy point of 135.02.
Dave & Buster's gapped down more than 11% after missing estimates. Earnings of 57 cents a share undershot estimates of $1.04, though revenue of $468.9 million beat views.
