The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes were higher Thursday, amid reports that showed weekly jobless claims and monthly GDP both came in lower than expected. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, ServiceNow and Tesla were big earnings movers on the stock market today.
After the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite traded up 0.4% in morning trades.
The 10-year Treasury yield edged lower to 4.52% early Thursday. And oil prices ticked lower, with West Texas Intermediate futures trading around $72.40 per barrel.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust was up 0.4%, as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF rose 0.5% after the open.
In stocks, Tesla reversed from early gains to fall 0.5% Thursday morning after the company announced worse-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter late Wednesday. But Chief Executive Elon Musk said that unsupervised full self-driving will come to Texas in June and that the robotaxi will arrive in 2026. Tesla stock is trying to find support at the 50-day moving average.
Meta moved up 4.5% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates. But its revenue outlook for the March quarter came in below views amid worries over currency exchange rates and a strong U.S. dollar, tempering investor enthusiasm.
Meta stock is on IBD Leaderboard, with Tesla stock on the Leaderboard watchlist.
Find The Next Palantir Or Hot IPO In 2025 With This Tool
Stock Market Today: Earnings Movers, Jobless Claims
The Labor Department's weekly unemployment claims unexpectedly dropped to 207,000 vs. 223,000 in the previous week. They were expected to rise to 224,000, per Econoday.
Further, the Commerce Department's first reading of fourth-quarter GDP showed growth of 2.3%, below the 2.6% estimate.
Elsewhere, Microsoft beat Wall Street's targets for its fiscal second quarter thanks to its booming artificial intelligence business. But Microsoft stock tumbled 5% in morning trading on decelerating growth in its Azure cloud infrastructure unit. Microsoft also offered a revenue outlook that was below views for the current quarter.
ServiceNow reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates while revenue met views. ServiceNow stock plummeted more than 12%, however, on lower-than-expected subscription revenue growth in 2025.
Other key earnings movers Thursday morning include Caterpillar, IBM, Lam Research, Mastercard and PulteGroup.
Caterpillar stock sold off 5%, while IBM surged more than 13%. Shares of Lam Research jumped 5%, as Mastercard rallied 4.2%. And PulteGroup gained nearly 3% in early trading.
DeepSeek Deep-Sixes Nvidia's Crown. Apple Coronated.
Dow Jones, Other Major Indexes Fall
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both lost 0.5% each.
Among the best companies to watch in the current stock market are Netflix, Royal Caribbean, Shopify and Spotify.
Along with Apple and Nvidia, Dow Jones components making notable moves were Amazon.com, Microsoft and Walmart.
Meta and Walmart are featured in this Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Check out IBD MarketSurge's "Breaking Out Today" list for top growth stocks that are moving above correct buy points. Check for potential breakouts on the "Near Pivot" list. To find additional stock ideas, check IBD Stock Lists like IBD 50, Big Cap 20 and Stocks Near A Buy Zone.
Despite Struggles, Palantir Secures Spot Among 25 'Perfect' Stocks
Dow Jones: Walmart Breaks Out
Dow Jones retail giant Walmart broke out past a flat base's 96.18 buy point this week and is buy range, according to MarketSurge pattern recognition. Shares added 1.1% Thursday.
Outside the Dow Jones index, streaming giant Netflix is in a buy zone past a 941.75 buy point in a flat base following last week's earnings-fueled gains. Shares gained 1% Thursday.
Cruise operator Royal Caribbean soared on earnings this week, breaking out past a 258.79 flat-base entry. The stock moved up 0.1% Thursday morning.
Shopify is still above a 115.37 double-bottom entry despite a 0.7% decline Wednesday. An alternative entry is at 120.72. Shopify shares were up 0.5% Thursday.
Finally, Spotify moved out of buy range buy range past a flat base's 506.47 entry amid a seven-day win streak. Shares tacked on nearly 3% Thursday morning.
Shopify is on IBD Leaderboard, while Royal Caribbean is on SwingTrader.
Nvidia, Apple And Tesla Highlight How To Handle The Stock Market Today
Stock Market Today: Companies To Watch
These are four stocks in or near buy zones in today's stock market, including a Dow Jones leader.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Buy Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | 941.75 | Flat base | |
| Walmart | 96.18 | Flat base | |
| Spotify | 506.47 | Flat base | |
| Meta Platforms | 602.95 | Flat base |
Source: IBD Data as of Jan. 28
Stock Eyeing 120% Growth Tiptoes Onto This Breakout Screen
Nvidia Stock Sits At 200-Day Line
Nvidia tumbled more than 4% Wednesday, still trading wildly following Monday's plunge. Shares are right at their long-term 200-day moving average, and remain sharply below the 50-day line.
The artificial intelligence giant gave up 1.7% in morning trading Thursday as Wall Street continued to digest the impact of China's DeepSeek.
Dow Jones Leaders: Amazon, Apple
Besides Nvidia, another Dow Jones component in the Magnificent Seven is Amazon stock, which is in buy range above a 233 buy point in a flat base. That's a new buying opportunity for the e-commerce giant. It fell 0.7% Thursday after hitting a new high Wednesday.
Shares of Apple climbed 0.5% Wednesday, closing right at their 50-day line. And shares lost 0.5% early Thursday. Apple earnings are due out after the close.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market today.
