The stock market remained near session lows at midday Wednesday, after a series of economic reports seemed to slam stocks.
The Nasdaq composite rose more than 1% early on but was down 1% at midday. It's been the leading major index since the market's May 20 low, up 9.5% through Tuesday's close.
The S&P 500, which climbed 8.5% from the May 20 bottom, reversed lower 1.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.1% despite a rally in Salesforce. The software company jumped 11% despite a mixed earnings report. The stock is now testing resistance at the 50-day moving average. It is also on pace for largest gain since Aug. 26, 2020, when it rose 26%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 32633.05 | -357.07 | -1.08 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4082.72 | -49.43 | -1.20 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 11955.65 | -125.74 | -1.04 |
| Russell 2000 | 182.26 | -3.05 | -1.65 | |
| IBD 50 | 31.89 | -0.19 | -0.59 | |
Last Update: 11:52 AM ET 6/1/2022 |
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Earnings fell 19% but still beat expectations, while revenue also topped views. But the company trimmed its fiscal 2023 sales outlook. Salesforce stock is trying to make a bottom after collapsing more than 50% from its November peak.
Dow, Nasdaq Top Tuesday Highs
The Dow and Nasdaq surpassed Tuesday's highs in early trading. Volume fell on the NYSE and Nasdaq compared with the same time on Tuesday.
Small caps fared even worse, with the Russell 2000 down 1.7%.
The stock market ended May with the S&P 500 and Dow eking out fractional gains for the month, while the Nasdaq fell 2.1% in May. June begins with the market in a confirmed uptrend thanks to a follow-through signal on Thursday.
Energy Select Sector SPDR was the only S&P sector ETF higher at midday, up 0.5%. The price of U.S. crude oil rose 1.5% to $115.40 a barrel after Europe moved Tuesday to ban some Russian crude imports.
In the oil & gas field services industry group, ProFrac broke out of an IPO base and is in buy range from the 19.05 buy point. The buy zone goes to 20. The company went public May 13 at 18 a share, according to MarketSmith.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF fell 0.6% at midday as energy stocks helped limit its loss.
Energy Stocks Lead IBD 50
Earthstone Energy, Callon Petroleum, Comstock Resources, Matador Resources, HighPeak Energy and Ranger Oil climbed more than 2% each.
But Eli Lilly fell below the 314.10 buy point of last week's breakout from a base-on-base formation. So far, there's no sell signal. The S&P health care sector was this morning's weakest, down 0.5%.
Chinese electric-vehicle makers trimmed early gains as the industry rebounds from Covid lockdowns and new EV subsidies were reported. Nio reduced its gain to 2.5%, Xpeng reversed lower 3.6% and Li Auto saw almost an entire 3% gain wiped away at midday.
The stock market fell after a series of economic reports.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 57.0 in May, down from 59.2 in April and below an earlier estimate. Economists had expected a 57.5 reading for May, according to Econoday. The rate of growth was the slowest since January.
At 10 a.m. ET, the ISM manufacturing index rose to 56.1 in May from 55.4, above forecasts for a drop to 54.5.
Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, saw employment in the manufacturing sector decline slightly in May in the ISM report.
"The job market is key for the Fed right now," he noted. "Prices paid fell slightly in May but supply bottlenecks may not be easing as much as the economy needs. Supplier deliveries are slowing as backlogs keep growing. Inflation expectations will remain anchored if the global economy can ease nagging supply chain problems."
Then the JOLTS survey showed April job openings at 11.4 million, meeting estimates. The March job openings number was revised up to 11.855 million from 11.549 million.
Indeed Hiring Lab director of economic research Nick Bunker said workers' outlook is strong as job openings remain high, despite slower growth in recent months.
"The quits rate is lingering near its recent multi-decade high as employers' strong hiring appetite provides the opportunity for many job seekers to leave their old jobs and take new ones," Bunker said in a commentary. "As companies try to retain workers they are also loath to let them go; the layoff rate was at a series low in April. Workers are having their moment in the sun, but some clouds are likely to come along and darken the outlook."
