The major stock market indexes closed strong, with all major indexes holding steady or picking up steam in the final hour of the second quarter. The day started on a firm footing after inflation data came out mostly in line with expectations and showed signs of slowing down.
The Nasdaq rose 1.5% to close out the trading day, as Big Tech stocks saw strength. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged with a 0.8% gain, and was pulled down by Nike.
The S&P 500 rallied 1.2%. The Russell 2000 climbed 0.6%.
The Nasdaq finished the first half of 2023 up an impressive 31.7%, and the best first half since 1983.
The S&P 500 posted a 16% six-month gain. Over 72% of S&P 500 stocks are above their 50-day moving averages, in preliminary numbers.
The Dow Jones lagged with a modest 3.9% six-month increase while the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 7.6%.
The Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust ETF gained 1.5%. It jumped 38.8% in the first half, the biggest gain on record since 1986. The First Trust Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted ETF popped 1.2%, indicating broad participation in today's rally.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF gained 1.8%, outperforming the market indexes. NYSE volume was lower and Nasdaq volume was higher, compared with the same time on Thursday, in preliminary numbers.
The May personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index rose 0.1% vs. the 0.2% expected. That dropped the annual inflation rate to 3.8%, meeting expectations and down from a revised 4.3% in April. That's the lowest rate since April 2021.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield shed 4 basis points to 3.82%. The CME FedWatch Tool showed over 80% odds for a quarter-point hike at the July Fed meeting.
Stock Market Action: Aircraft Stock Flies To A High
IBD 50 company FTAI Aviation soared 2.9% and hit a 52-week high. Shares are in the 5% buy zone of a flat base with a buy point of 30.26, which reaches to 31.77.
The relative strength line also hit a new high as shown by the blue dot on the weekly chart, according to MarketSmith pattern recognition.
Analysts expect the company to earn $1.45 a share this year vs. a loss of $2.24 in 2022. The company leases aircraft and jet engines, making it a complement to the hot airline industry.
Nike fell 2.7% in heavy volume, after reporting worse-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings late Thursday. Several analysts cut their price targets on the stock. Shares dropped below the 200-day moving average.
Visa rose 1.4% as the stock broke out of a flat base, hitting the 235.57 buy point. The stock is in the buy zone, which reaches to 247.35. Shares retook the 50-day moving average on Thursday.
The move came after the company reported on Wednesday it will acquire cloud-based processing and banking platform Pismo for $1 billion in cash.
Futures: Rally Back At Highs; 5 Stocks In Buy Zones
Stock Market Movers: Cruise Line Stocks Sail Onward
Carnival surged 9.7% in heavy volume, after Jefferies upgraded the cruise line stock to a buy from a hold rating and raised its price target to 25 from 9.
Shares are well extended from a cup base with a 12.62 buy point. The IBD 50 stock is up more than 130% this year so far.
Royal Caribbean Group, also in the IBD 50, jumped on board Carnival's rally, and rose 2.2%.
Nvidia gained another 3.6% after Daiwa Capital upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to 475 from 408.
Chinese EV maker XPeng gapped up 13.4% in heavy volume after launching its G6 Ultra Smart Coupe SUV Thursday.
Tidewater jumped past the 51.88 buy point of an undefined base in heavy trading. A handle entry at 51.13 is another viable buy point. The provider of support vessels for offshore drillers is expected to continue expanding its bottom line. Analysts expect the company to earn $3.18 a share this year vs. 22 cents in 2022.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
