Stock market indexes fell into the close Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and small-cap Russell 2000 sustaining the biggest losses.
The Dow was closed nearly 0.6% lower and is nearly unchanged for the week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite fell not quite 0.2%. Both ended four-day win streaks.
The small-cap Russell 2000 lost 1.3%, its largest one-day loss since Nov. 15.
Volume rose on the Nasdaq and fell on the NYSE, according to unconfirmed data.
Dow component UnitedHealth, still reeling from the shock assassination of the CEO of its health insurance unit, dropped more than 30 points, impacting the Dow Jones industrials. UnitedHealth, which surprisingly rose Wednesday, closed Thursday below its 50-day moving average.
Salesforce, new Dow industrials component Sherwin-Williams, Honeywell and Amgen fell less than 2%. Honeywell, which regained a 220.79 buy point Nov. 11, is making a test of buying support at the 21-day exponential moving average.
UnitedHealth Stock Tumbles
UnitedHealth stock had already shown whipsawing price action well before news Wednesday that Brian Thompson was fatally shot in downtown Manhattan ahead of an investor day conference. New York police are conducting a citywide manhunt for the masked gunman.
The stock had tried to break out of a narrow flat base at 607.94 on Oct. 14, then plummeted more than 10% the next day on Q3 results. That big drop triggered a loss-cutting sell rule, regardless of the fact that weeks later the megacap health care play rebounded back above the prior buy point.
Failure to rebound back above the 50-day line would mark a profit-taking defensive sell rule for investors who had bought at a prior buy point, including a trendline entry near 519-520.
Apple closed nearly flat, and Microsoft added 1.2%. It made the highest close since July 23.
Microsoft, as noted in IBD's analysis, has supplied a fresh buy point since successfully testing support at the long-term 200-day moving average. The relative strength line is trying to snap a four-month downtrend.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast the cloud computing, enterprise software and computing hardware titan to increase earnings 11% in the current fiscal year ending in June 2025 to $13.10 a share, then boosting FY 2026 earnings another 15% to $15.11.
1:40 p.m. ET
Cancer Fighter Tops Buy Point
Grail, which focuses on cancer detection technology, thrust more than 6% higher and hit a high of 22.39, nicely above a 21.47 buy point in a nearly five-month cup without handle.
The stock's 60 Composite Rating reflects the company's lack of earnings. However, revenue has ramped up 84%, 36%, 43% and 38% vs. year-ago levels over the past four quarters. Trailing four-quarter sales also topped $112 million total. Grail's three-month Relative Strength Rating, according to MarketSurge, is exceptional at 96.
The 5% buy zone in Grail, a small cap with a $726 million market value, ranges from 21.47 up to 22.54. Volume looks poised to jump above the stock's average over the past 50 sessions for a fourth straight session.
Meanwhile, the small-cap Russell 2000 accelerated its drop to 1% at around 1:20 p.m. ET. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF trimmed its gains to less than 0.4%. The exchange traded fund has burst ahead more than 18% so far in the fourth quarter.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose as much as four basis points to 4.22% before cooling down to 4.18%.
12:20 p.m. ET
Nvidia, Super Micro Trade Steady
Super Micro Computer rose slightly. Nvidia reversed higher as it held in a buy zone. Meta Platforms fell but remained in a buy zone after breaking out on Tuesday. Nvidia is on IBD Leaderboard, SwingTrader and the IBD 50. Meta is on IBD Leaderboard.
The stock market got a boost on Wednesday as all three major indexes made a record close. The Dow Jones index also cleared a psychologically important level at 45,000. At midday, it was back below that level.
Super Micro stock pared gains to 0.1%. Elon Musk's xAI startup will invest in at least 1 million graphic processing units for its data center in Memphis, Tenn. Both Nvidia and Super Micro will provide the chips and server infrastructure for the facility, according to reports.
Also on Wednesday, Meta announced plans to build a data center in Louisiana, which will be its largest. That bodes well for demand for Nvidia's chips.
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AI Chip Play Crashes On Earnings
Electronic design automation company and AI play Synopsys fell after quarterly sales and earnings showed slowing growth. Sales grew 11% to $1.6 billion and earnings rose 13% to $3.40 per share. Its current quarter outlook also disappointed. Shares rallied ahead of earnings but fell below the 50-day moving average in huge volume Thursday.
Synopsys uses Microsoft's cloud platform Azure's generative AI tools to accelerate chip design.
Kroger, a holding of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, rose 1% after its results came out earlier Thursday. Shares are in a buy zone from a buy point of 58.34.
10:42 a.m. ET
Stock Market Mulls Economic Data
Initial jobless claims rose to 224,000 vs. estimates of 215,000 for the week ended Nov. 30. November's payroll data will be released Friday with estimates that the economy added 200,000 jobs during the month.
Late Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on bitcoin eased fears among crypto investors. Powell noted that the "digital gold" asset did not compete with the U.S. dollar. Following his remarks, bitcoin cleared the $100,000 mark.
Magnificent Seven stocks in the Dow gave back little of their recent gains. Nvidia remained in a buy zone above a buy point of 140.76. Apple was nearly flat and in a buy zone from a 237.49 entry. Amazon.com and Microsoft were nearly unchanged.
Among Dow laggards, Salesforce pulled back, although that followed an 11% rally Wednesday in reaction to earnings.
Earnings Movers In Today's Stock Market
SentinelOne and nCino were the latest software names to report earnings. SentinelOne is a cybersecurity stock, while nCino provides financial software for banks. Electronic design automation stock Synopsys also reported.
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SentinelOne reported 28% growth in sales of $210.6 million but earnings of 1 cent per share was unchanged from the prior quarter. The company expects $222 million in sales for the current quarter and $818 million for the full year. SentineOne fell over 7% below a buy point of 26.62 and triggered the 7% sell rule in the stock market today. But the stock pared losses.
NCino triggered a sell rule by round tripping back below a buy point of 37.48, although shares made up some of the losses quickly. The financial software company's third quarter sales of $138.8 million grew 14%. Earnings per share of 21 cents were 50% higher than the previous year. But its midpoint sales outlook was $140.5 million for the current quarter, below views of $143.8 million. Earnings of 19 cents per share were in line with estimates.
Synopsys also fell after quarterly results. Sales and earnings showed slowing growth. Sales grew 11% to $1.6 billion and earnings rose 13% to $3.40 per share. Its current quarter outlook also disappointed. Shares rallied ahead of earnings but are falling to the 50-day moving average in huge volume.
In retail, Dollar General fell. American Eagle Outfitters dived more than 13% after its report. The stock fell back below the 50-day line, as it continues a long downtrend.
Stock Market Today
American Airlines soared after the airline increased its profit outlook based on favorable pricing and strong travel demand. Shares were in a buy zone from a buy point of 14.66 and have gapped up 10%, leaving the stock extended.
Stocks with exposure to cryptocurrencies soared after bitcoin topped the $100,000 level for the first time. Coinbase soared into a profit zone. MicroStrategy gained 8%.
ICICI Bank broke out of a cup with handle at a buy point of 31.60.
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