The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite were in rally mode again in afternoon trading in the stock market today. After briefly touching the 5,000 level Thursday, the S&P 500 rose above the key level again, up 0.4%. Top gainers in the S&P 500 included Applied Materials, up more than 5% ahead of next week's earnings report.
The Dow Jones industrials were lower by 0.2% just after 1 p.m. ET, but technology stocks in the Dow Jones today like Intel, Apple, Microsoft and IBM bucked the trend in the blue-chip index with gains of at least 0.8%. Intel stock is toiling below its 50-day line after an earnings sell-off. Apple stock is also below its 50-day line but also not far from a 196.38 entry.
Futures strengthened a bit before the opening bell after a December reading on inflation was revised slightly lower.
December's CPI inflation rate was revised to a monthly gain of 0.2% from 0.3%, while December's core CPI was left unchanged at a 0.3% increase. The fourth-quarter core CPI remained unchanged, with a 3.3% annualized increase.
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The Nasdaq composite was near session highs, up 1.1%. Top gainers in the Nasdaq 100 included software firms MongoDB and Lam Research with gains of more than 4% each.
The Russell 2000 small-cap index jumped 1% after a nice bounce off the 50-day moving average Thursday. The small-cap index is trying to reclaim the 2,000 level again.
Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners on the Nasdaq by nearly 2-to-1. Winners had a slight edge over losers on the NYSE by about 3-to-2. Volume on the Nasdaq was slightly higher compared to the same time Thursday. NYSE volume was lower.
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Bitcoin surged another 5% to around $47,800 after a big gain Thursday. Marathon Digital rallied another 11% after soaring 23% Thursday. Riot Platforms gapped above its 50-day line and rose 13%. The stock is up more than 30% so far this week. MicroStrategy — which currently owns 190,000 bitcoins at an average cost of $31,224 — tacked on 12% and is also up more than 28% so far this week.
Cloudflare was a big earnings winner in the stock market today, up more than 30%. The company delivered another quarter of triple-digit earnings growth, with adjusted profit more than doubling to 15 cents a share. Revenue increased 32% to $362.5 million. Cloudflare provides products that speed up and provide security for web applications routed through its global network.
In the MarketSmith Growth 250, Dexcom slumped more than 4% early despite strong Q4 results. Adjusted profit rose 47% to 50 cents a share. The maker of glucose monitoring systems for diabetics also reported revenue of just over $1 billion, up 27%.
A few other names fell sharply on earnings. Buy now pay later firm Affirm slumped 14% at midday. Pinterest and Expedia also fell sharply on disappointing results.
UiPath was a strong gainer in the MarketSmith Growth 250 after flashing an early buy signal Thursday. The stock is trying to break out of an eight-week consolidation with a 26.53 buy point.
SPS Commerce climbed over a 198.35 buy point after the software stock reported a 19% rise in earnings. Revenue rose 19% to $145 million.
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The 10-Year Yield Rises
The 10-year Treasury yield edged up to just over 4.18%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures added 1% early but turned flat near midday around $76.25 a barrel.
Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tempered rate-cut expectations, saying that inflation needs to make more progress toward the Fed's target of 2%, and the economy is strong enough that the Fed can afford to be patient with rate cuts.
There's still a fear that inflation could stay sticky and delay Fed rate cuts. The latest core Personal Consumption Expenditures index, one of the Fed's preferred inflation gauges, came in at 2.9% vs. expectations of 3%.
Right now, fed funds futures traders at CME FedWatch aren't expecting a rate cut at the March meeting. Traders see a 63% chance of at least a quarter point cut at the May meeting.
Follow Ken Shreve on X/Twitter @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
