The stock market has seen another tough week after President Donald Trump on Sunday failed to quell recession fears tied to his trade war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4.6% for the week through Thursday's close. The S&P 500 shed 4.3%. But within the losses, there have been bright spots. Among those, energy stocks AES, ConocoPhillips, Vistra and NRG Energy are charging higher. Meanwhile, Intel has led the S&P 500 so far this week. Super Micro Computer and Axon have pared their early-week gains. Elsewhere, major tech companies including Amazon and Google are coming together to support nuclear energy capacity growth.
Despite the gains, the current market is not a healthy environment for setting up new positions or adding to existing stock holdings. IBD's Stock Market Exposure guide currently recommends investors have a maximum of 20% of their capital invested. Now is a good time to build watchlists and wait for a follow-through day to launch a new uptrend.
Intel
Intel is closing in on a 15% gain for the week and leading the S&P 500. INTC stock leapt more than 14% on Thursday after Intel late Wednesday appointed Lip-Bu Tan to serve as the company's new CEO. Tan previously led Cadence Design Systems and will begin his new role on March 18.
INTC stock has a 21-Day ATR% of 18.68.
The average true range is a metric available on IBD's MarketSurge charting tool. It gauges the characteristic breadth of a stock's behavior. Stocks that tend to make large jumps or dives in daily action, the kind that can trigger sell rules and shake investors out of a stock, have a high ATR. Stocks that tend to make more incremental moves have lower ATRs.
In the current, unpredictable market, IBD suggests stocks with ATRs of 3 or below.
AES
AES Corporation provides power for some of the largest tech companies, as firms are hunting or building out more data center space. More than 40% of AES' 12.7 gigawatt backlog includes customers such as Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet's Google, according to reports.
AES has surged 9.6% this week, paring its 2025 decline to 4%. Shares rose early Friday, continuing their push off their 50-day line.
AES stock has an ATR of 4.64%.
ConocoPhillips
Oil and natural gas producer ConocoPhillips is up 7.6% this week and, after a five-day rally, is testing resistance at its 50-day moving average.
COP stock rose 1.4% early Friday.
JPMorgan on Thursday said it expects oil prices to decline, according to a research note reported by The Fly. The record U.S. oil supply, return of OPEC+ barrels in April, and heightened global trade risks from tariffs could cause a further drop in oil prices and force higher-cost barrels out of the market. JPMorgan lowered its price target on COP stock to 115 from 127 and kept an overweight rating on the shares.
ConocoPhillips, which acquired Marathon Oil last year, posted a 6% increase in total energy production for its Q4 report in February.
COP stock has an ATR of 3.19%.
Vistra
Vistra advanced 5.4% this week. The company is one of the largest electricity providers in the U.S. with a focus on renewable energies, including multiple nuclear power plants.
Vistra on Feb. 27 topped Q4 views with a 106% increase in adjusted earnings on 31% revenue growth.
VST stock hit a record high of 199.84 on Jan. 23 but has trended lower. Shares are down more than 14% this year, despite the gain so far this week, and trading around their 200-day line.
Vistra has an 8.15% ATR. Shares climbed 2.5% Friday.
NRG Energy
NRG Energy climbed 5% this week to rebound above its 200-day line. The company on Wednesday announced a $560 million deal to purchase six power-generating facilities in Texas from Rockland Capital. The acquisition should add 738 MW of natural gas capacity to its portfolio.
NRG stock is up about 2% this year. Shares have an ATR of 6.06%.
Axon Enterprise
Shares of Axon Enterprise have gained about 5.2% this week and are working on a rebound above their 21-day exponential moving average.
Axon produces bodycams, tasers and other equipment and devices for law enforcement officers. The company on Feb. 26 reported a 49% increase in earnings on 34% sales growth to clear expectations. Axon's 2025 outlook calls for 25% revenue growth at the midpoint of the forecast. The company also announced its total addressable market expanded to $129 billion, reflecting opportunities to sell to international governments and expanded product offerings in the enterprise safety market. Axon also sees a $17 billion opportunity from providing AI solutions.
AXON stock has a 7.19% ATR.
Super Micro Computer
Super Micro Computer was up more than 11% this week through Wednesday, before tumbling about 8% on Thursday. The server provider has retreated from its mid-February highs as the AI frenzy wanes. Super Micro shares still boast a year-to-date gain of 28%, according to MarketSurge charts.
SMCI stock has a 21-day ATR of 13.31%.
Nuclear Energy Support
Elsewhere, major tech companies at the CERAWeek 2025 in Texas on Wednesday pledged to support tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The group includes Amazon, Google, Meta Platforms, and Warren Buffett energy favorite Occidental Petroleum.
The group also includes 14 major global banks, 140 nuclear industry companies and 31 countries from previous commitments, according to the release.
Amazon in the announcement noted that last year it invested more than $1 billion in nuclear energy projects and technologies, as part of its plant to be net-zero carbon by 2040.
Nuclear energy currently generates about 9% of the world's electricity from 439 power reactors.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
