The Dow Jones and other major stock indexes erased early losses and finished mixed on Tuesday, as the markets braced for a key inflation report. Meanwhile, Tesla rose as investors weighed major developments at the electric-car maker, and Nvidia fell on the stock market today despite bullish views on its China sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had plunged more than 300 points at one juncture, but cut that deficit and was just below the break-even mark at the close of the trading day. The S&P 500 reversed to finish 0.1% higher while tech-heavy stocks on the Nasdaq did better and gained 0.3%. The Dow Jones index hovered around its 50-day moving average while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq managed to close just above their 21-day moving averages. Most S&P sectors gained but industrials and financials fell.
Meanwhile, small caps on the Russell 2000 gained 0.3% as it continued to battle with the 21-day moving average amid pronounced volatility in recent sessions. And volume on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq exchange was higher compared with the same time on Monday. However, breadth offered some relief as advancers led decliners on both exchanges by a small margin.
The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund lagged and fell 1.1%. The ETF is testing support at the 50-day moving average. Further, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 7 basis points to 4.36%.
Magnificent Seven: Tesla Up, Nvidia Down
Among Magnificent Seven stocks, Tesla trimmed its gains to 2.3% on the stock market today. Chief Executive Elon Musk said on X, formerly Twitter, that the company would unveil its robotaxi on Aug. 8. Musk also denied rumors that Tesla would not make a mass market vehicle.
But according to reports, analysts at Deutsche Bank said it is still too early to weigh in on the "thesis-changing" news. Too much uncertainty remains regarding both an autonomous car enabled with artificial intelligence, and what the analysts called a "volume play" through a low-priced vehicle.
Fellow Magnificent Seven stock Nvidia fell 2% even after a CNBC report said the AI chip leader's China sales may exceed lowered expectations.
Nvidia is a holding in Investors Business Daily's IBD Leaderboard model portfolio, and sits on the IBD 50 growth stocks list. New challenges from Google-parent Alphabet's latest AI chip may be pressuring the stock.
Stock Market Today: Inflation Report Due
The Labor Department is due to release its Consumer Price Index report for March on Wednesday.
On an annual basis, inflation is seen rising to 3.5% from 3.2% in February. That hinges on whether the monthly increase tapers to 0.3% from February's 0.4%. Core inflation is expected to fall to 3.7% from 3.8% annually, according to Econoday.
Elsewhere, the IBD MarketSurge Growth 250 showed a possible sector rotation underway. The top gainers were insurance stock Root, Procore Technologies and Eldorado Gold.
In the IBD 50, top gainers were MakeMyTrip and Permian Resources.
Dow Jones Stocks On Stock Market Today
Among stocks in the Dow Jones index, Cisco Systems, Salesforce and Microsoft gained ground.
Finance stocks on the Dow took a hit ahead of big bank earnings. JPMorgan Chase, American Express and Visa all fell.
Outside the Dow, Alphabet's Google launched its cloud-computing event on Tuesday. The company announced Monday its Google Cloud unit is expanding its partnership with Palo Alto Networks. Palo Alto has committed to a "10-figure" multiyear deal making Google Cloud its AI and infrastructure provider.
Palo Alto Networks rebounded from the 200-day line and is in a base, though a buy point of 380.84 remains distant, according to IBD MarketSurge. Google stock was up fractionally in a buy zone after breaking out at 153.78.
Futures: All Eyes On Inflation Data; Tesla Rises, Nvidia Falls On Rival AI Chips
India Bank Tries To Break Out
Meanwhile, Icici Bank is trying to break out of a flat base on a weekly chart with a buy point at 26.66. American Depositary Receipts for the India-based financial stock ended the day 2% higher.
Monday's Stock Of The Day United Rentals is building a flat base with a buy point of 732.37. Alamos Gold rose on the stock market today after analysts at Bank of America upgraded the stock to a buy from a neutral rating with a price target of 27.25, up from 21.75.
First-quarter earnings start later this week with Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup reporting Friday.
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