Buyers returned to the markets in force Thursday and major indexes made a much better than finish vs. Wednesday's action. Also on the stock market today, Qualcomm broke out, while car trading company Carvana catapulted on a surprise quarterly profit.
On a MarketSurge daily chart, Qualcomm's relative strength line rocketed into new high ground, indicating fine outperformance vs. the S&P 500. QCOM also triggered the RS line blue dot alert on MarketSurge.
After the market's close, the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5%. The S&P 500 accelerated its rebound to 0.9%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 0.9%. At one point the Dow Jones ramped up more than 350 points. At least eight of the Dow's 30 components rallied 3 points or more, including struggling blue chips UnitedHealth, Boeing and Apple.
Among the best-performing Dow Jones stocks today, Caterpillar and Microsoft hold the best combination of two IBD ratings: the Earnings Per Share Rating and the Relative Strength Rating. Caterpillar has a combined 181 score (92 EPS, 89 RS according to MarketSurge), ahead of Microsoft's total score of 174 (97 EPS, 77 RS).
Stock Market Today: Rebound Broadens
Small caps also surged as the Russell 2000 rallied 1.8%, outperforming large caps. Volume fell vs. the same time Wednesday on both the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, according to early data. Yet turnover was running higher up until mid-afternoon trading, which saw a boost in the prior session as the Federal Reserve made its announcement on interest rates and Fed Chair Jerome Powell held a news conference.
Meanwhile, investors are bracing for Friday's April nonfarm payrolls report.
According to Econoday, economists are forecasting payrolls to rise 243,000, down from a net gain of 303,000 positions in March, and the jobless rate to hold steady at 3.8%.
Wednesday's The Big Picture column adds details on how the stock market reacted to the U.S. central bank's decision to keep short-term interest rates unchanged. The Fed noted that the bank is showing concern regarding the lack of recent progress on inflation.
However, data from the CME FedWatch survey continues to show the decent possibility of at least one cut in the fed funds rate, currently at a range of 5.25%-5.5%, sometime later this year.
Qualcomm rose nearly 10% and passed a 175.99 early buy point within a two-month base in volume running more than three times its 50-day moving average. Qualcomm stock also moved past a 177.59 standard entry and remains in the 5% buy zone.
The Current IBD Long-Term Leaders
Carvana Stock: Will It Lead In 2024?
Also on the stock market today, Carvana, a major nationwide player in the used-car market, soared more than 33%. The company posted earnings of 23 cents a share in the first quarter, a huge turnaround from a net loss of $1.51 a year ago. Wall Street expected a loss of 79 cents.
Carvana shares have vaulted 120% since Jan. 1. Carvana has gotten solid support at the 50-day line for weeks and shot to new multiyear highs before fully forming a new base.
Are Sellers Covering Carvana Short Positions?
According to MarketSurge, short interest in Carvana stock amounts to 4.6 times the stock's daily average volume of 6.2 million shares, or roughly 28.5 million shares. Therefore, the earnings surprise may be forcing short sellers to cover their short positions, further adding fuel to demand in Carvana.
Stock Market Today: Apple Gains, Others Slump
Among other winners in the stock market today were iPhone titan Apple, up more than 2% on the stock market today with earnings due after the close. Please go to IBD's tech news section for the latest in earnings results among key leading stocks.
One of the Magnificent Seven megacaps, Apple is expected to post earnings of $1.52 a share for the March-ended quarter, flat vs. a year ago, on revenue of $90.4 billion, down 5%. The stock continues to work through its latest base and has not given a new buy point.
Apple, however, continues to lag leading growth stocks. The stock is down more than 10% year to date.
Other stocks on the move included Cummins and Parker Hannifin, which both fell hard and undercut their 50-day moving averages in heavy trading. After a strong run-up, a violation of the 50-day line serves as an opportune moment to lock in profits.
Both stocks rebounded some off session lows.
Cummins, the truck engine maker, posted a 9% dip in Q1 profit to $5.10 a share as sales fell 1% to $8.4 billion, the first year-over-year drop in at least eight quarters.
Will Meta Stock Make A Normal Correction?
Last week, Facebook and Instagram operator Meta Platforms delivered the same sell rule. The social media titan gapped below the same technical level following strong first-quarter reports, but a weaker-than-expected sales outlook for the full year.
Meta rose for a second straight day despite a sell rating reportedly from BNP Paribas. The stock is down sharply in Q2 so far.
For long-term holders in Meta who hold an outstanding profit in the stock, they could consider holding the recent Leaderboard member as it potentially builds a new base.
Stock Market Today: How The Technicals Look
In the stock market today, breadth improved dramatically from Wednesday. Winners outpaced losers by more than a 2-1 margin on the Nasdaq. Gainers led decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by nearly 3-to-1.
The yield on the key 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rebounded as high as 4.65% before it cooled off and fell 2 basis points to 4.57%.
Elsewhere, beaten-down exercise equipment firm Peloton pared its loss to 2.5%. Its chief executive stepped down and the company announced major staff cuts. Also, Fastly continued to sink badly on quarterly results, plunging 32%.
Qorvo plunged 14.5%. Shares undercut the 200-day line for the first time since late November even though the specialist in RF chips for a variety of equipment reported strong first-quarter results.
Qorvo's earnings catapulted 435% to $1.39 a share on a 49% rise in sales to $941 million. That marked the second straight quarter of top-line acceleration.
Stock Market Today: Trucking Firm Leads Upside
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones transportation average led the upside, thanks in part to a strong reaction to earnings from C.H. Robinson Worldwide. The trucking firm announced first-quarter adjusted earnings of 86 cents a share on revenue of $4.4 billion. The company sees capital expenditures ranging from $85 million to $95 million for the year.
The Dow transports rallied more than 2%.
C.H. Robinson gapped up bullishly at the open and sprinted ahead more than 17% before pulling back. Volume surged more than nine times Robinson's 50-day moving average. The stock briefly hustled back above the long-term 200-day moving average on the stock market today. Shares are trying to end a long-term downtrend.
The 12-month RS Rating for C.H. Robinson stock remains weak at 14. Keep an eye on the three-month Relative Strength score (available at MarketSurge), which is a little stronger at 32 but likely to improve quickly.
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