The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell even as e-commerce stocks like Shopify and Amazon.com gained. A trio of Warren Buffett stocks are looking strong near buy points. Tesla was up as the firm sued a Swedish government agency over labor issues. iRobot cratered on acquisition news.
A number of noteworthy stocks were testing entries in mixed action. Carpenter Technology, Roku and Skechers USA were among issues attempting to stage breakouts.
Nasdaq Flat As Growth Stocks Shine
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fared best out of the major indexes despite falling 0.1%. IBD SwingTrader play MercadoLibre shined here, with a lift of 4.1%.
The S&P 500 closed down 0.2%. Lithium stock Albemarle struggled as it fell 6.3%. The firm, the biggest U.S. provider of lithium for EV batteries, is down over 43% in 2023 amid demand concerns.
The S&P 500 sectors ended the session mixed. Real estate and consumer discretionary fared best in the stock market today. Health care and industrials were the worst-performing areas.
Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 down 0.3%. Growth stocks inched higher, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF up 0.1%.
Dow Jones Today: MMM Up As Disney Stock Lags
The Dow Jones industrials also fell, though its slip of 57 points, or 0.2%, was light.
Conglomerate 3M fared best as it turned in a gain of 1.2%. It continues to lag a consolidation entry of 108, MarketSmith analysis shows.
Microsoft and Walmart were also among the better performers. MSFT rose 0.3% while WMT rose 0.5%.
In contrast, Walgreen Boots Alliance was the worst laggard on the Dow Jones today as it fell 3.5%.
Other Dow laggards included Dow Inc., which dipped 1.1% and Walt Disney, which fell 0.9%.
These Warren Buffett Stocks Are Near Entries
Investors should always be keeping an eye out on the portfolio of top investors, and there are few more feted than Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.
A trio of stocks in the portfolio of the Oracle of Omaha's firm which boast strong fundamentals are currently near buy points.
Market research stock Moody's is trading just below an entry of 363.19. This is a first-stage pattern, a bonus. The chart appears to resemble a double bottom, which would mean 350.46 was a valid entry, too.
Overall performance here is excellent with its IBD Composite Rating coming in at 97 out of 99. Big Money has been a net buyer of late, with its Accumulation/Distribution Rating sitting at a meaty A-.
D.R. Horton is trading just below a cup-with-handle entry of 130.79. The relative strength line is just off highs.
Homebuilder stocks have been rallying amid weakening Treasury yields. Housing stock shortages and strong employment bode well for its fortunes going forward. Impressive all-around performance has netted D.R. Horton a spot on the prestigious IBD Leaderboard list of top stocks.
Visa is trading in the buy zone above a cup-base entry of 250.06. The relative strength line has been gaining traction in recent weeks. The stock has a strong EPS Rating of 92. In addition, it is in the top 16% of stocks in terms of price performance over the past 12 months.
Shopify, Amazon Stock Up As E-Commerce Shines
A number of e-commerce stocks were getting a boost Monday amid positive Black Friday data.
Leaderboard stock Shopify built on early action as it rose 4.9%. It is now extended from a 67.60 buy point.
SHOP, which builds e-commerce websites for small businesses, disclosed Black Friday sales at its merchants rose 22% to $4.1 billion. It came after data from Adobe Analytics showed Black Friday sales of $9.8 billion, up 7.5% year over year.
Amazon, which is also on Leaderboard, rallied 0.7%. AMZN stock is trading in the buy zone above a 145.86 entry.
Buy now, pay later stock Affirm did even better, surging 12% while Etsy rose 3%.
Short Circuit For iRobot Stock Amid EU Warning
There was more news for Amazon stock holders in addition to today's stock action though.
For iRobot stock cratered after the EU's antitrust watchdog warned its acquisition deal with the e-commerce giant may "restrict competition." Trading in iRobot stock briefly halted after the announcement.
iRobot shares reversed back below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages in massive volume.
It was only on Friday that the stock moved above the 200-day moving average for the first time since July 24.
The stock had soared 39.1% last week after Reuters reported Amazon's $1.4 billion deal to buy the smart vacuum cleaner company was set to win full EU antitrust approval.
However, this step does not amount to a full veto of the deal and Amazon can still work with the regulator to address worries. The EU has a deadline of Feb. 14 for a final decision.
It is not just EU regulators that are looking into the deal. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also probing the matter, though the UK's Competition and Markets Authority said in June the deal would not "substantially" reduce competition.
Tesla Stock Up Amid Lawsuit
Tesla stock managed to reverse higher. The company filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Transport Agency saying it should be able to collect license plates directly rather than getting them by mail.
Postal workers have been refusing to deliver the plates amid an ongoing labor feud after the U.S. carmaker turned down employee demands for collective bargaining. Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously branded the labor actions against his company as "insane" on his social media platform, X.
Analysts say the big worry for Tesla is if unions in other European nations, such as Germany, strike to show solidarity with their Swedish colleagues. Reuters reported on Monday that a Swedish court had ruled the transport authority must find a way to get license plates to Tesla.
Tesla stock finished the session up 0.3% but remains just below its 50-day moving average, according to MarketSmith analysis.
Outside Dow Jones: Leader Among Stocks Testing Entries
There were a number of interesting breakouts Monday despite the mixed action.
Carpenter Technology is in a buy zone above a cup-with-handle entry of 71.30. Volume was strong. The stock is also in the 5% buy zone from the lower trendline entry point of 70.70.
The metals and aerospace stock won a spot on the prestigious IBD Leaderboard list Monday.
Roku sits in a buy zone after soaring clear of a consolidation entry of 98.44. Volume was also running high here. While the company's bottom line is poor, the stock is in the top 3% of stocks in terms of price performance over the past 12 months.
Skechers USA is in a buy zone after clearing a cup-base entry of 56.53. This is a first-stage pattern, but volume was lackluster.
The stock is currently in one of the top performing IBD industry groups. The shoes and related manufacturing group ranks eighth out of the 197 tracked.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
