The Dow Jones Industrial Average pared some midday losses in afternoon trades Friday as inflation data came in cooler than expected.
The Labor Department said the producer price index for December dropped 0.1%, while economists polled by Econoday expected a 0.2% rise. That is welcome news for investors after Thursday's consumer price index data, which showed a 0.3% rise for last month.
Dow Jones stocks traded 0.4% lower in afternoon trades but the index improved from earlier lows. The S&P 500 ventured into positive ground again after falling 0.1% midday on the stock market today.
The Nasdaq also eked out a small gain and traded less than 0.1% higher. IBD Leaderboard stock Zscaler gained in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index while Tesla weighed it down. MercadoLibre broke out from a flat base with a buy point of 1,660.
Meanwhile, the small-cap Russell 2000 index succumbed to the larger trends and erased its earlier gains. The index fell 0.3%.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was lower and unchanged on the Nasdaq compared with the same time on Thursday. Breadth deteriorated at midday and continued to show weakness. Advancers beat decliners by a small margin on the NYSE but lagged decliners on the Nasdaq.
The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund pulled back 0.2%. The fund is trying to work its way toward a 24.95 buy point in a cup with handle.
West Texas intermediate crude oil bounced 1.8% higher to trade at 73.81 a barrel. And the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 3.97%.
Dow Jones Stocks
JPMorgan Chase rose 0.7% after the brokerage reported earnings, but then it reversed and lost 0.2% as the session advanced. The financial giant's fourth-quarter earnings came in above views but sales fell short.
United Health fell below the 50-day moving average and triggered a sell signal. The Dow leader beat fourth-quarter estimates but cited higher medical costs as the percentage of premiums spent to cover health care needs increased.
Tesla Falls On Red Sea Attack
Outside the Dow Jones index, Tesla fell further below its 50-day moving average in afternoon trades Friday. The electric-vehicle giant plans on suspending operations in Berlin for two weeks from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11.
According to the Wall Street Journal, components needed for manufacturing ran short due to the ongoing attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. Earlier, Cathie Wood's ARK Invest loaded up on Tesla stock on Thursday as it fell below its key moving averages.
Delta Air Lines was an earnings mover Friday. Shares fell but remain in a handle with an entry at 42.70. The airline operator topped expectations yet gave weak earnings views for the fiscal first quarter. Among other airline stocks, United Airlines and American Airlines fell in sympathy.
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Bank Stocks Fall On Earnings
Among the big banks, Wells Fargo and Bank of America fell on earnings news. Citigroup reversed course and rose 1.5%. The stock is trying to break out past a 53.23 entry out of a consolidation.
Outside the Dow Jones index, Twilio rose after an upgrade to overweight from analysts at Piper Sandler. The stock also got a new price target of 82, up from 75. Shares are rebounding from the 10-week line and are also near an entry at 78.16.
Building maintenance and services stock Rollins is trying to break out of a cup with handle with a buy point of 43.91. Shares were flat in recent action.
Among software stocks, OpenText is near a buy point of 43.25 but was down in recent action. Further, DoubleVerify is approaching a handle entry at 38 and also reversed lower in light volume.
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