The major stock market indexes remained mixed Monday afternoon, as the Nasdaq hit a new high for the year. Saudi Arabia announced additional oil production cuts over the weekend, but oil stocks reversed lower.
Crude oil eased off from earlier gains, up 1.4% to $72.76 per barrel, after Saudi Arabia said Sunday it would cut an additional 1 million barrels of oil a day starting in July, due to slowing demand. The cut takes its production from 10 million barrels to 9 million per day.
The May ISM Services Index, which measures business activity, fell to 50.3 vs. the 52 Econoday consensus, and below the 51.9 April reading. Above 50 indicates economic growth.
April factory orders, which includes durable and nondurable goods, rose 0.4% vs. the 0.8% gain expected. Durable goods orders rose 1.1%.
The Russell 2000 felt some heat on the lower reports, accelerating today's decline when the data came out, though it later rebounded some. The index was down 0.9% at midday.
The Nasdaq gained 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.4%. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%.
The Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust ETF rose 0.5%. And the Innovator IBD 50 ETF added 1%.
NYSE and Nasdaq volume fell vs. the same time Friday.
Gold futures edged up 0.2% and remained below the psychological $2,000-per-ounce level.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing cryptocurrency exchange Binance and co-founder Changpeng Zhao, alleging that they commingled user and personal funds and violated securities laws. The price of Bitcoin shed 6.7% to $25,600 on the news.
Cryptocurrency online platform company Coinbase Global plunged over 11% on the Binance news.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield added 2 basis points to 3.71%. The CME FedWatch tool shows over 70% odds for no rate hike at this month's Federal Reserve meeting, and the remainder of Fed watchers expect a quarter-point rate hike.
Stock Market Movers: IBD 50 Leader Hits A 52-Week High
IBD 50 stock Fortinet popped 4.6% and is back in a 5% buy zone reaching to 72.52 from a 69.07 buy point.
The cybersecurity stock is nearing its 52-week high hit on May 22. Shares jumped 5.6% on May 5, after the cybersecurity provider reported a beat on Q1 top and bottom lines.
Circor International surged 50% after announcing it will be acquired by KKR for $1.6 billion including debt, confirming an earlier Wall Street Journal report. Circor makes pumps, valves and fluid-control products for the industrial, aerospace and defense industries. Shares gapped up from a cup base.
Oil and gas stocks initially rose on the Saudi Arabia oil news but have trimmed gains. Occidental Petroleum rose 0.5%, Exxon Mobil added 0.2% and Dow stock Chevron was unchanged. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF gave back gains and was nearly flat. VanEck Oil Services ETF fell 1.1%.
IBD 50 stock Cloudflare fell 1.3% after UBS initiated coverage with a sell rating and a price target of 55. The software-as-a-service cloud application stock remains in the 5% buy zone of a 66.20 buy point.
Futures: Stocks Pull Back. But Not Much; Two IPO Movers
Stock Market Movers: Internet Of Things Stock Up Again
IBD 50 stock Samsara rallied 10.3% in heavy volume, adding to Friday's 27.9% gain, after the company reported a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss and higher sales.
Its relative strength line hit a 52-week high, as indicated by the blue dot, according to MarketSmith. Samsara provides sensors and cloud-based software to manage vehicle fleets and industrial operations and GPS tracking.
MongoDB gained 3.4% on top of Friday's 28% gain from its strong first-quarter earnings report. Wedbush raised its price target to 410 from 230 and maintained its outperform rating on the stock.
Cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks got a 5.6% lift on news it will be added to the S&P 500 before the market open on June 20. PANW will replace Dish Network , which fell 1% on the news, while Palo Alto hit an all-time high.
Science Applications International gained 2.4% after reporting higher-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales. It also raised its full-year 2024 profit and revenue guidance. The stock broke out above a trendline.
Epam Systems sank 19% after reporting Q1 earnings and lowering its Q2 and full-year 2023 revenue and profit guidance, citing lower demand. The stock fell below its 50-day line as a correction deepened. Epam is on pace for its largest one-day decrease since Feb. 28, 2022, and is the S&P 500's biggest loser today.
Dollar General fell 3.7% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the discount retailer to equal weight from overweight and cut the price target to 180 from 235.
Biotech Stocks Make Big Moves
ImmunoGen popped 5.3% in heavy volume on an update that its Elahere ovarian cancer treatment reduced cancer progression by 35% vs. chemotherapy treatment.
Canaccord Genuity raised its price target to 19 and maintained its buy rating on the biotech stock. Shares skyrocketed 135% on May 3 after the company initially announced results from its Phase 3 trial of Elahere.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
