Stocks tried to wake up in afternoon trading on Thursday but the major indexes finished mixed ahead of the holiday weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both closed at new highs while the Nasdaq eased. Meanwhile, Teflon maker Chemours was a big loser on the stock market today.
The Dow managed to eke out a 0.1% gain, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 0.1%. The S&P 500 also inched 0.1% higher, enough to set a new closing watermark. Small caps on the Russell 2000 were the clear leaders as that index climbed 0.5%.
Preliminary numbers show volume fell on the New York Stock Exchange and rose on the Nasdaq vs. the same time Wednesday, ahead of the holiday weekend. The stock market is closed on Good Friday.
In Thursday's action, the Invesco QQQ Trust exchange traded fund retreated 0.2%, while the Innovator IBD 50 ETF skidded 0.5%. The 10-year Treasury yield held at 4.21%. And West Texas intermediate crude oil climbed more than 2% to surge just under $83 a barrel.
Stock Market Today: Teflon Maker Slides, Palantir Plummets
Teflon maker Chemours eased from larger losses earlier in the session but still ended Thursday trading down 9.1%. The company reported fourth-quarter profit and sales that topped estimates on Wednesday, but investors focused on its accounting issues instead.
Chemours shares skidded 31.5% on Feb. 29, after the chemical maker announced it was putting top executives on leave and postponing its financial audited filings amid an internal investigation into its accounting practices. The company said in its annual report dated March 28 that it's cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office as they investigate the company's accounting review.
Dow Jones component Home Depot slid 0.6% after the home-improvement retailer announced it's acquiring SRS Distribution, a seller of roofing materials and building products, for about $18.25 billion. Home Depot stock is extended from a cup-with-handle base with a 334.97 buy point. It reached a 52-week high of 396.87 on March 22.
Fellow Dow stock Apple sank 1.1% after DZ Bank downgraded the iPhone maker's stock to hold from buy. The bank also cut its price target to 180 from 210. Apple stock was the worst performer on the Dow on Thursday.
RH Stock Rockets
Outside the Dow, Palantir Technologies stock tumbled 6.1% after brokerage Monness, Crespi, Hardt downgraded shares to sell from neutral and gave shares a price target of 20. Shares of the IBD 50 stock closed at 23.01 on Thursday. The stock sank below its 21-day exponential moving average on Thursday in lighter-than-average daily volume.
MillerKnoll plummeted 18.9% after the office furniture maker reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter but sales came in below views. It also provided a fiscal fourth-quarter outlook with adjusted earnings and sales coming in below estimates. The gap down below its 50-day line triggered a sell signal on the stock market today.
Further, RH soared 17.3% even after the upscale home furnishings retailer reported a miss on its fiscal fourth-quarter results. Investors focused instead on the company's current quarter outlook for revenue growth in the low single digits. RH sees full-year sales growth of 8% to 10% for fiscal 2024.
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Cruise Line Stock Reverses
Carnival tumbled 4.9% and closed below its 21-day line on the stock market today. The cruise line operator on Wednesday reported a smaller-than-expected loss for its fiscal first quarter, but sales came in below views.
Estee Lauder jumped 6.3% after Bank of America Securities upgraded the skin care and cosmetics stock to buy from neutral and raised its price target to 170 from 160. Shares are in an early stage flat base with a 159.75 buy point.
The stock reclaimed its 21-day line and found resistance at its 200-day moving average. Investors may note that its fundamentals are weak. It reported seven straight quarters of declining earnings, six of those with sales drops. In addition, Estee Lauder's IBD Composite and Earnings Per Share Ratings are a dismal 13.
Braze gapped down 12.4% in heavy volume, sending the stock further below its 50-day line and undercutting its 200-day line, triggering a sell signal. The customer engagement platform operator reported a larger-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter loss and topped sales views. The dark cloud came as it forecast a larger current-quarter and fiscal 2025 loss than analysts had projected.
And among Magnificent Seven stocks, Tesla trimmed nearly 2.3% while Leaderboard stock Nvidia added 0.1% on the stock market today.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on X/Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
