Major indexes showed mixed action on Friday as investors took a breath on the stock market today following the Nvidia-led rally Thursday.
Dow Jones stocks gave up early momentum but still rose in the last hour of trading, finishing 0.2% higher. The S&P 500 dipped briefly into negative territory but reversed course and was up marginally. Among the 11 S&P sectors, energy, consumer discretionary and technology lagged, while financials, consumer staples and utilities gained.
The Nasdaq initially got a lift from software stocks as several companies in the sector head into earnings next week. But earnings-induced tumbles from MercadoLibre and Warner Bros. Discovery helped wipe out those gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 0.3% at the close of the trading session.
MercadoLibre plummeted 10% after the company reported earnings that came in below views. Warner Bros. plunged 10% as well after it missed analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue for its fourth quarter. Reports said the company also warned of cash flow headwinds for the coming year.
Meanwhile, volume on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq was lower than the same time on Thursday. Breadth weakened as advancers beat decliners by less than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq.
Small cap stocks on the Russell 2000 trimmed their gains to 0.2% on the stock market today. After a promising start, the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund was left with a 0.3% gain by the close.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 8 basis points to just above 4.25%.
Nvidia Runs Toward Another Milestone, But Market Needs This
Dow Jones Stocks: Salesforce And Cisco
Among Dow Jones components on the stock market today, Salesforce dipped 0.3% but remained in a profit zone ahead of earnings on Wednesday. While most tech stocks on the Dow fell, Cisco Systems rose 0.6% as investors await earnings next week for Splunk. Cisco announced plans to acquire Splunk in September.
Health care and retail leaders as well as financial stocks in the Dow did well. Tech stocks lagged.
Outside the Dow, Carvana gapped up more than 32%, bursting past an entry of 62.59 and through the buy zone out of a cup base. The used-car dealer chain announced fourth-quarter results late Thursday and said it sees strong retail sales and earnings for the current quarter.
Cathie Wood Holding Soars On Earnings
Block ended the day 16% higher after the company gave a strong outlook for the year. Shares traded just below a buy point of 80.29 out of a consolidation. According to the company's disclosures, Cathie Wood's Ark Fintech Innovation ETF, Ark Innovation ETF and Ark Next Gen Internet ETF hold shares of Block.
Meanwhile, Intuit fell in the early going on a weak outlook for the current quarter earnings. But it reversed course in afternoon action and posted a fractional gain on Friday.
And in travel stocks, Booking.com plunged more than 10% after sales and earnings decelerated for the third straight quarter. Shares broke support at the 50-day moving average.
Stock Market Today: Reddit Files For IPO
Popular social networking platform Reddit filed plans for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RDDT.
Ahead of the filing, Reddit struck a deal with Google-parent Alphabet, which will license Reddit's content for training large language models. The $60 million-per-year deal places Reddit squarely in the middle of mounting artificial intelligence frays, according to reports. The filing also shows Open AI Chief Executive Sam Altman is a major stakeholder in Reddit.
Among recent new issues, Birkenstock rose and hovered just below a 52.12 buy point at the close. Fiscal first quarter results are due Thursday.
IBD Leaderboard stock Zscaler is set to report next week along with other software stocks Workday, Snowflake and Nutanix.
After a major plunge earlier this week, Zscaler stock has retaken its 50-day moving average. Workday is in a profit zone while Snowflake formed a three-weeks-tight pattern Friday with a buy point of 237.72 on the stock market today.
Meanwhile, Nutanix is near a buy point from a three-weeks-tight pattern with an entry at 59.87.
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