The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped Monday, as Wall Street braced for this week's Federal Reserve policy meeting and earnings reports from the bulk of stocks in the Magnificent Seven. Meanwhile, SoFi Technologies soared after posting its first quarterly profit and beating Wall Street's estimates.
After the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down less than 0.1%, while the S&P 500 inched higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.2% in morning action.
Among U.S. exchange traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust was up 0.2%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF edged higher.
The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.1% Monday. Further, oil prices looked to extend last week's solid gains, but West Texas Intermediate futures sank 0.9%. WTI futures traded around $77.50 a barrel.
Economic Data, Big Earnings Reports
On the economic calendar this week, Wednesday's Fed meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's news conference will take center stage. Wall Street expects Powell to begin charting a path to winding down balance-sheet tightening, even if he plans a long process, but his tone will be key.
Meanwhile, Friday's January employment report is expected to show that employers added 165,000 jobs.
Shares of SoFi Technologies soared 22% in early action, set to retake their key 50-day moving average line. Early Monday, the company reported earnings of 2 cents per share on sales of $594.2 million, beating Wall Street's estimates.
Five Magnificent Seven stocks report earnings reports this week: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
Also on the calendar is aerospace giant Boeing. The company's shares plunged earlier this month after a fuselage panel on one of its 737-Max 9 jets sheared off mid-flight.
Dow Jones Hits New High
The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.4% Friday, but continued to sit more than 5% above its 50-day line and is clear of its short-term moving averages.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% but remains near all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed the other major indexes on the stock market as it inched up 0.2% to hit a new high.
Friday's Big Picture column commented, "A second part of the puzzle when it comes to rate cuts is the jobs market, which has been robust despite the Fed's rate-hiking regime. There will be a flood of jobs data in the coming week, including the ADP employment report on Wednesday and the crunch U.S. nonfarm payrolls data coming Friday."
Now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column amid the continuing stock market rally. Be sure to read how to adjust to changing market conditions, with IBD's new exposure levels.
Learn How To Time The Stock Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Best Stocks To Buy And Watch
DraftKings, KKR, Novo Nordisk, Snowflake and Spotify — plus Dow Jones components Amgen and Merck — are among the best stocks to buy and watch in the current market rally.
MercadoLibre and Spotify were featured in this Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Get Real-time Buy And Sell Alerts On Stock Market Leaders With IBD Leaderboard
Dow Jones: Merck Breaks Out
Biotech leader Amgen rose 0.5% Friday, further out of the 5% buy range past a 288.46 official buy point in a flat base. The 5% buy area went up to 302.88. Amgen stock slipped 0.1% early Monday.
Drug maker Merck is breaking out past a cup base's 119.65 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. Shares finished back above their entry amid a 0.6% climb Friday. Merck stock was up 0.5% Monday.
4 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Rally
KKR Breaks Out
IBD Leaderboard watch list stock DraftKings snapped an eight-day win streak Friday, with a 0.5% drop. Shares briefly broke out past their double-bottom base's official buy point at 38.97 last week, but they closed below it. The stock was up 3.7% Monday.
IBD SwingTrader stock KKR broke out Friday, moving above an 85.66 flat-base entry. Shares tacked on 0.2% early Monday.
Weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk ended Friday up 2.3%, bullishly regaining its 105.69 flat-base buy point. Shares added 0.1% Monday morning.
Software leader Snowflake is trying to break out past a 202.83 buy point in a flat base, but closed below it amid a 1.7% drop Friday, according to IBD MarketSmith. Snowflake stock was up 1% Monday.
Spotify closed Friday out of buy range past a 202.88 buy trigger in a flat base, with a slight rise. Shares were higher by 1.8% Monday morning.
Best Bets In Today's Action
These are four best stocks to watch in today's stock market, including a Dow Jones leader.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Buy Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 105.69 | Flat base | |
| Merck | 119.65 | Cup base | |
| DraftKings | 39.35 | Cup base | |
| Spotify | 202.88 | Flat base |
Source: IBD Data As Of Jan. 29, 2024
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Magnificent Seven Stocks: Nvidia, Tesla
Magnificent Seven stocks Nvidia and Tesla were up 0.9% and 1%, respectively, in morning action Monday.
Nvidia moved down nearly 1% Friday, holding about 20% past a a 505.48 buy point in a flat base after a Jan. 8 breakout move.
Tesla dived 13% last week, closing at its lowest level since May 2023. Shares are around 40% off their 52-week high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks in the Magnificent Seven, Apple and Microsoft traded mixed after Monday's stock market open.
Apple stock fell 0.9% Friday, extending a losing streak to three sessions, but still holding above its 50-day line. Shares are just 3% away from their flat base's 199.62 buy point. Shares lost 0.9% early Monday.
Microsoft stock moved down 0.2% Friday, still extended past a flat base's 384.30 buy point. The software giant moved up 0.4% Monday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
