Stock indexes trimmed some losses in late trading Thursday, but still closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and small-cap Russell 2000 ended with the heaviest losses in broad selling.
The Dow started the day in the black and at a record high, but closed 1.3% lower. Blue chips gave back all of Wednesday's 243-point gain and then some.
The S&P 500 closed 0.8% lower but had been down more than 1%. The Nasdaq composite's losses continue to mount as the tech-heavy index slid 0.7% after reducing its losses. The drop comes on top of Wednesday's 2.8% skid in which the Nasdaq racked up its worst one-day percentage loss since December 2022. It closed below its 21-day exponential moving average on Wednesday and fell further below it Thursday.
Meanwhile, the small-cap Russell 2000 took the sharpest jabs. It reversed lower and plunged nearly 1.9%.
Declining stocks outpaced advancers by more than 3-to-1 on both the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange. Volume was higher on the Nasdaq and lower on the NYSE, according to early data.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF slid 2.1%. In bonds, the 10-year Treasury yield rose four basis points to 4.19%.
Updated 3:28 p.m. ET
Where The Money Went Thursday
Builders and bankers led Thursday's charge, with 14 builders near new highs. At the top of the builder pack was D.R. Horton, which popped nearly 10% in heavy volume after the homebuilder beat fiscal third-quarter profit and revenue projections.
Shares topped the 5% buy zone of a double-bottom base with a 157.72 buy point, according to MarketSurge pattern recognition. D.R. Horton was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 today, hitting an all-time high.
Other builders at the top of the heap included KB Home, Lennar, Meritage Homes and PulteGroup.
Super-regional banks were the next top performers, with six out of 10 stocks near fresh highs. But the group as a whole lost some ground Thursday, collectively down 0.6%.
Financial and insurer stocks as a whole have been outperforming the market of late, with a plethora of companies either breaking out or bursting through their buy zones. Some notable names still in buy zones include Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs, credit card giant American Express and auto insurer Progressive.
Updated 1:57 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Tech Sell-Off Gains Momentum
Technology stocks continued to plunge en masse Thursday, continuing nearly a week's worth of losses. Ten tech industry groups ranked in the bottom 30 of Investor's Business Daily's 197 groups.
One of those leading the charge in futility was the Computer-Data Storage group, which collectively was losing 2.2% in recent action. That's on top of a 5.6% plunge the group incurred in Wednesday's bloodbath. Data storage stocks are down nearly 9% from Friday's close.
The group includes Micron Technology, which fell 2%, 2.6% and 6.3% Monday through Wednesday, and was off 3% Thursday. Micron seems to have taken the hardest shots, but the charts of rival storage companies Western Digital, Seagate Technology and Pure Storage all have similar stories to tell.
Other tech groups struggling were Computer Software-Design, Computer-Hardware/Peripherals and Computer Software-Database. Another was the Electronics-Semiconductor Equipment, or chip gear makers.
Futures: Netflix User Growth Strong; Tesla, Nvidia Buck Market
These Sectors Lead Charge Upward
On the other side of the coin, the leading industry group in recent trades was the Commercial Services-Outsourcing group, which managed a gain of 2.5%.
The market-cap leader in that group, Automatic Data, is on a six-day winning streak and building the right side of a flat base with a 256.57 buy point.
Another commercial services player is uniform provider Cintas, which lingered in a buy zone for a month before bursting through it Thursday with a gain of more than 5%. Cintas, a regular visitor to the IBD 50, beat May-quarter expectations early today.
Other sectors charging upward include Beverages-Non-Alcoholic, Building-Residential/Commercial, Auto Manufacturers and Oil & Gas-International Exploration and Production.
A Couple Of Sell Signals To Watch
Amid the sell-off, two stocks in particular sounded the alarm for bears.
One sell signal came from Camtek, which fell below its 50-day moving average with another loss of nearly 3% in recent action Thursday. Camtek had been charging higher until this week's crash, in which it has lost more than 15%.
Another was Veeco Instruments, which plunged 5% Thursday. Veeco pierced the 50-day line on Wednesday after plummeting nearly 9%.
Both stocks are heading back toward their buy zones after substantial moves above them in recent weeks.
Updated 12:25 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Infosys Surges
Infosys bolted more than 8% in heavy volume out of a long saucer base with a 20.74 buy point. But a more appropriate entry was around 22.60 based on the high on the first five-minute price bar, bringing the 5% buy zone up to 23.73. The India-based software company topped analysts' fiscal first-quarter profit and sales estimates.
IBD SwingTrader stock Blackstone gave back some gains but still was up 1.2% in recent action. The move came despite the world's largest asset manager reporting lower second-quarter earnings vs. the prior year's quarter.
Its assets under management increased to $1.08 trillion from $1 trillion a year ago. Shares are in the buy zone up to 140.24 of an early stage flat base with a 133.56 buy point.
Insurance stock Allstate powered up 4.8% and broke out of a cup base with a 177.37 entry point. Shares reached a new high on the stock market today.
Dow Jones stock Caterpillar trimmed larger gains to just under 1% in recent trades, after reaching the 364.43 buy point out of a double-bottom base.
Updated: 10:47 a.m. ET
Surprise In Jobless Claims
Initial jobless claims for the week ended July 13 came in at 243,000 vs. the 230,000 expected and higher than the revised 223,000 from the prior week. Further, the July Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index came in surprisingly higher at 13.9 vs. the 3.0 forecast.
Stock Market Today: Taiwan Semi Down On Earnings
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, better known as TSMC, dropped 1.9% after the company topped second-quarter earnings and sales estimates overnight. This follows an 8% drop on Wednesday. The stock was trying to get back to its 21-day line, but hit resistance. Shares are extended from a double-bottom base with a 148.43 buy point.
TSMC is the world's largest chip foundry. Its customers include Nvidia, Apple, Advanced Micro Devices, Qualcomm and Broadcom.
Domino's Pizza gapped down more than 11% in heavy volume following its miss on second-quarter sales expectations. It also announced it will fall short — by 175 to 275 stores — of its 2024 goal for 925 net international locations. The plunge below its 200-day moving average in heavy trading triggered a sell signal.
The pizza restaurant stock is on pace for its largest decrease since Feb. 23, 2023, when it fell 11.7%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It is also the worst performer in the S&P 500 today.
United Airlines advanced around 2% after it reported better-than-expected second-quarter adjusted earnings but lower sales than views.
Magnificent Seven Stock Movers: Nvidia, Meta Rebound
IBD 50 stock Nvidia recouped a fraction after Wednesday's steep 6.6% drop. Shares undercut their 10-week moving average on Wednesday.
Meta Platforms also rebounded more than 1% after a 5.6% drop Wednesday in which it flashed sell signals.
Apple sank another 1% following Wednesday's 2.5% plunge. Lastly, Tesla climbed more than 1% on the stock market today after its 3.1% plunge Wednesday.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on X/Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
