Stock market indexes closed mixed Wednesday, finishing near session lows as investors mulled over a barrage of earnings reports. Chipotle Mexican Grill soared after a bullish earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 0.7% while the Nasdaq gained 0.5%. The S&P 500 traded lower 0.4%. The ishares Russell 2000 ETF lost 1%.
The Nasdaq remained below the 12,000 psychological level. NYSE volume fell and Nasdaq volume rose compared with the same time on Tuesday, in preliminary numbers.
The Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust ETF reclaimed 0.6%, while the Innovator IBD 50 ETF gave back 0.8%.
Crude oil slid 3.5% to $74.35 per barrel. Gold futures retreated 0.3%, and landed just below the $2,000 level, to $1,999 per ounce. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF slipped 0.5% in sync with the yellow metal.
Bitcoin gave back earlier gains and inched up 0.9% to $27,860. Bitcoin got a lift after First Republic Bank tumbled again today. Some investors see crypto currency as a hedge, according to MarketWatch.
"The crypto market learned last month that the banking crisis works favorably for bitcoin's price," says Yuya Hasegawa, market analyst at Bitbank.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reversed course and lost 3%.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield added 4 basis points to 3.43%. The CME FedWatch tool shows over 70% odds for a quarter-point rate hike at the May Fed policy meeting.
Stock Market Movers: Bank Stock Sells Off Again
First Republic Bank plunged 29.8% on top of Tuesday's 49% plummet. The move comes after the regional bank reported late Monday that Q1 deposits dropped by 41%, and revenue fell compared to the same quarter last year. The company said it will slash its head count by 20% to 25%.
Dow Jones component Boeing trimmed gains and added 0.4% after the aerospace and defense manufacturer reported mixed Q1 results but reaffirmed its 2023 guidance. The company said the 737 Max delivery delay won't disrupt its financial plan for the year.
Amazon.com popped 2.4% in sympathy with Big Tech names reporting strong cloud revenue. The online retailer and cloud computing company reports Q1 earnings Thursday after the bell. Amazon began laying off a previously announced 9,000 cloud computing and human resources employees today.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms popped 0.9%.
Futures: Meta Soars But Megacaps Can't Hide Market Woes
Solar Stocks Feel Pain; Burrito Stock Catapults
Chipotle rallied 12.9% after reporting higher than forecast Q1 EPS and sales. Comparable restaurant sales increased 10.9%, exceeding the 8.6% FactSet estimate.
Shares are extended from the 5% buy zone of a cup base with a 1,724.81 buy point. The burrito restaurant chain also plans to hold off on price hikes. CMG led the S&P 500 as the biggest gainer today.
Enphase Energy tanked 25.7% in very heavy volume after the company missed Q1 sales expectations and gave lower Q2 revenue guidance. ENPH fell below its 50-day line, a red flag. The solar energy storage company was the biggest S&P 500 loser today.
IBD 50 stock SolarEdge Technologies plummeted 10.4% in heavy volume, in sympathy with peer Enphase's big decline. Shares dropped below the 200-day moving average, a warning sign.
Old Dominion Freight Line tanked 10% in heavy volume, after missing both Q1 earnings and sales estimates. The less-than-truck-load (LTL) transportation provider sparked selling in other trucking stocks.
Stock Market: Fintech Stock Delights
PROG Holdings soared 17.7% in heavy volume after beating its Q1 earnings and sales estimates. Shares were extended above a cup base with 27.09 buy point, even after factoring in the gap above the buy point.
The fintech stock's relative strength line hit a 52-week high, as indicated by the blue dot in MarketSmith charts.
IBD 50 stock Vertex Pharmaceuticals did an about-face and dropped 2.6%, sending shares below the 325.29 buy point of a cup base. VRTX has been mostly in a 5% buy zone since April 12, and hit an all-time high Tuesday. Vertex was also the IBD 50 Stocks to Watch pick Tuesday.
Oil and gas explorer stock Hess jumped 1.3% after reporting better-than-expected first quarter EPS and sales. The oil stock is in a cup-with-handle base with a 150.29 buy point.
March durable goods orders rose surprisingly by 3.2% vs. the expected 0.9% increase. The number excluding transportation, a 0.3% increase, exceeded the estimated 0.2% drop.
The numbers give insight into how busy factories will be in coming months. Meanwhile, core capital goods orders dropped by 0.4% vs. the projected 0.2% increase.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock news on Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
