The major stock market indexes fell to start a holiday-shortened trading week, but are climbing off session lows Tuesday afternoon.
Indexes were well off this morning's lows. The Nasdaq trimmed its loss to 0.1% in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5%. The S&P 500 pulled back 0.3%. The Russell 2000 retreated 0.5%.
The Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust ETF improved from larger losses and was down 0.2%. The First Trust Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted ETF fell 0.8%.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF pared earlier losses and was down 0.1%. NYSE and Nasdaq volume fell from Friday's levels at the same time of day. (The stock market was closed Monday for the Juneteenth holiday.)
The housing market surprised investors with stronger-than-expected May and June numbers.
May housing starts came in much higher than expected: 1.631 million units annualized vs. the 1.4 million consensus estimate, and well above the revised 1.34 million in April. Permits of 1.491 million also exceeded the 1.433 million expected and showed strength in the housing market.
The June Housing Market Index came in at 55 vs. the 50 projected, according to Econoday.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield shed 5 basis points to 3.72%.
The CME FedWatch Tool showed over 70% odds for a quarter-point hike at the July Fed meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET at the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. The meeting is the first of a twice-yearly report on U.S. monetary policy.
Crude oil sank 1.8% to $70.63 per barrel. The price of bitcoin gained 4% to $27,505.
European stocks closed lower, with the German DAX slipping 0.6% and the Paris CAC 40 off 0.3%. The London FTSE also trimmed 0.3%.
Stock Market Movers: Chinese E-Commerce Stock Sinks
Alibaba fell 4.3% on news that CEO Daniel Zhang will step down on Sept. 10, to be replaced by Alibaba co-founder Eddie Wu. Wu is also currently chair of Taobao and Tmall Group.
Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai will take over as chairman of the Chinese e-commerce giant. In March, the company announced it would break into six different groups, including Taobao Tmall Commerce Group.
Tmall Taobao will be separated once again. It operates business-to-business and business-to-consumer online retail operations under Alibaba. Taobao Tmall is increasing the adoption of AI-powered technology.
BABA shares retook the 50-day moving average last week and fell today slightly below the 200-day line.
Dice Therapeutics gapped up 37% in huge volume on news that Eli Lilly will acquire the biopharmaceutical company for $2.4 billion in cash. Dice specializes in treatments for autoimmune disorders. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
Shares of Eli Lilly climbed 1.4%. LLY is in the 20% profit-taking zone of a cup base with a 375.25 buy point.
Avis Budget Group jumped 8.3% in heavy volume after Morgan Stanley upgraded the vehicle rental company to overweight from equal weight and raised its price target to 230 from 182.
Bulls Resist Selling As These Titans Run; 5 Stocks Near Buy Points
IBD 50 Stock Hits All-Time High
Allegro MicroSystems surged 3.3% in heavier-than-average volume. Shares of the IBD 50 stock are in a cup base with a 48.72 buy point.
Symbotic took a pause from last week's all-time highs and pulled back 5.5% in heavy volume at midday. The AI-focused robotics company is the IBD 50's biggest loser today.
Another IBD 50 stock, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, recovered from an early dip to gain 1.8% in heavy volume and hit another all-time high. Shares are above the 20% profit zone of a long cup-with-handle base with a 44.15 buy point. AMPH has nearly doubled this year so far.
ELF Beauty, also in the IBD 50, rallied 3.4% after BofA Securities raised its price target to 120 from 105 and maintained a buy rating on the cosmetics and skin care seller.
Shares have showed dominance and hold a perfect IBD Relative Strength Rating of 99, meaning it outperformed 99% of stocks in the IBD database in price performance the last 12 months. Shares have gained 94% this year so far.
Stock Action: Biotech Tanks On FDA Move
Atmus Filtration Technologies rallied 4.5% after several analysts initiated coverage on the maker of industrial and heavy equipment filters. Wells Fargo set an overweight rating with a 24 price target, while Goldman Sachs started with a buy rating and a 30 price target.
The company went public on May 26 at 19.50 a share.
Biotech Arcellx tumbled 7% in heavy volume after the Food and Drug Administration put a hold on its investigational new drug for the treatment of a type of blood cancer following a patient's death.
Shares have triggered sell signals. The stock dropped further below the 50-day moving average and erased a sizable gain from the 35.26 buy point.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
