Major stock market indexes nudged ahead in afternoon trading Wednesday as investors digested negative manufacturing data from the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, Tesla continued to run after hitting an early buy point Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 0.3% while the S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.2%. The S&P edged closer to an all-time high reached in January 2022 while Dow stocks continued to set new standards. Nasdaq stocks keep setting new 52-week highs.
The small-cap Russell 2000 hit another 52-week high as it climbed 0.3%. Volume edged higher on the New York Stock Exchange and jumped sharply on the Nasdaq exchange compared with the same time on Tuesday. Innovator IBD 50 ETF was nearly flat.
The Fed said its Richmond district manufacturing index plunged to -11, down sharply from November's -5 reading. Economists had expected a reading of -6. This survey tracks business conditions in the district's multistate, Southeast region manufacturing sector. The survey also showed that companies remained generally pessimistic about local business conditions.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury slid 9 basis points and dropped to 3.8%. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 1.5% to $74.42 a barrel.
A member of the so-called Magnificent Seven, Tesla rose more than 2% Wednesday after rising 1.6% Tuesday. The move on Tuesday put Tesla stock back above an early entry at 252.75 and into an aggressive buy zone. The electric-vehicle giant has a big double-bottom pattern with a conventional buy point of 278.98.
It was reported Tuesday that Tesla plans to refresh its most popular EV, the Model Y, at its factory in China. Tesla also reportedly plans mass production of the revamped car by mid-2024, reports said. Meanwhile, studies are showing that EV purchases may be losing momentum.
Stock Market: Magnificent Seven In And Around Buy Zones
All the other stocks in the Magnificent Seven also maneuvered in and around buy zones Wednesday. Apple erased losses after winning a court ruling regarding its smartwatches.
A U.S. appeals court paused a ban on the Apple Watch put on by the International Trade Commission in October over concerns a blood-oxygen sensor infringed on intellectual property. The tech icon sits near a 192.93 cup-with-handle buy point and is testing its 21-day exponential moving average.
Microsoft remained in its buy zone out of a cup base despite being down marginally. It was reported that the New York Times is suing Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement involving the use of artificial intelligence. The Times contends that the companies' AI products are trained on millions of pieces of Times content.
Google parent Alphabet also continued in a buy zone on the stock market despite a fractional loss. Google stock now sits near the bottom of the buy area, which goes from 139.42 to 146.39.
Also in the Magnificent Seven, Nvidia ticked up in another attempt to surge through its buy zone. Nvidia stock has been in and out of buy range from a double-bottom base since early November.
Amazon.com started to move above its buy zone with marginal gains in afternoon trading. Amazon also has hovered around a buy zone out of a consolidation since last month.
And Facebook parent Meta Platforms continued to extend above its buy zone, climbing 1% on the stock market today.
Stocks Edge Higher As Tesla Breaks Out, Apple Scores Big Win
IBD 50 Stocks On The Move
Among IBD 50 stocks, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals moved back into positive ground after recording a deficit earlier in the session. It remains just above its cup-with-handle buy zone with an entry of 58.35. The biotech had been in and out of the buy area since early December.
Enterprise software player Samsara made a move out of its buy zone but slipped back into it by the afternoon. Samsara's cup base has a buy point of 32.41. The stock now has formed a three-weeks-tight pattern with a 36.91 buy point.
After pushing into a buy zone Tuesday, oil services company Tidewater worked its way to the top of the zone in midday action Wednesday. Tidewater was in a consolidation with a buy point of 73.55, but an early entry was available at 72.06.
Three cruise lines on the IBD 50 were mixed. The leader of the pack, Royal Caribbean Group, was up slightly Wednesday, and remains firmly extended above its cup-base buy zone.
Carnival, meanwhile, continued to stumble after touching a 19.55 entry out of a cup base late last week. Norwegian Cruise Line also sank Wednesday as its effort to reach a 22.75 buy point out of a cup base seems to be withering.
Stock Market: Cryptocurrency, Companies In The News
A number of cryptocurrency stocks were up sharply on hopes that the Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a bitcoin exchange traded fund in coming weeks. Among the gainers were Marathon Digital and Hut 8, which both leapt by double digits.
Elsewhere, T-Mobile US was up on reports Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank Group has called for T-Mobile to issue it 48.75 million more shares. T-Mobile is in a buy zone out of a long consolidation with a 154.38 buy point.
CNBC reported the move is predicated on conditions set out with the merger of SoftBank's Sprint operations with that of T-Mobile in 2020. SoftBank now doubles its stake in T-Mobile to 7.64% from 3.75%. Softbank's U.S. shares rose 2.5%.
Biotech stock Cytokinetics catapulted more than 75% after it announced positive results from a Phase 3 clinical trial on a drug to treat symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The genetic heart condition afflicts 700,000 people in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health.
And First Solar was up fractionally after it was reported the solar energy provider would sell $700 million in manufacturing tax credits to Fiserv. Fiserv stock also was up slightly.
