The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Friday, after fever-pitch inflation data and surging Treasury yields triggered a sell-off on Thursday. Cloudflare and Monolithic Power systems climbed after reporting strong earnings results late Thursday.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, Apple gained 0.1% Friday, while Microsoft traded down 0.1% in today's stock market. American Express, a Dow Jones stock to watch, is in buy range after this week's breakout.
Electric-vehicle leader Tesla dropped 0.5% Friday, looking to rebound from Thursday's sharp loss.
Amid a volatile stock market rally, BHP Group, Blackstone, Palo Alto Networks and Stifel Financial are among Friday's top stocks to buy and watch. All four are in or near new buy zones.
Microsoft, Stifel and Tesla are IBD Leaderboard stocks. American Express was featured in this week's Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Blackstone is an IBD SwingTrader stock. Palo Alto Networks was Thursday's IBD Stock of the Day.
Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields
After the stock market open Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%, while the S&P 500 moved up 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite reversed 0.2% lower in morning trade. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust moved down 0.3%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF rose 0.1% after Friday's open.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked down near 2% Friday morning. On Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield surged above 2% for the first time since mid-2019, closing at 2.03%. Treasury yields continue to climb on expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to raise interest rates to combat pervasively high inflation.
Meanwhile, Chevron topped the Dow and oil stocks packed the top of the S&P 500 as U.S. oil prices gained around 1.5%. West Texas Intermediate crude moved back above $91 a barrel, but remained on track for its first weekly decline since mid-December. WTI briefly topped $93 a barrel last week.
Stock Market Rally
The stock market posted sharply negative action Thursday, as all three major stock indexes sold off with big losses. Amid the recent volatility, now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column.
Thursday's The Big Picture commented, "The stock market opened sharply lower Thursday following the CPI report. But indexes quickly slashed losses and the Nasdaq even turned slightly higher in midday trade. But that action proved to be short-lived as the major stock indexes headed south in afternoon trade, closing near session lows."
If you're new to IBD, consider taking a look at its stock trading system and CAN SLIM basics. Recognizing chart patterns is one key to the investment guidelines. IBD offers a broad range of growth stock lists, such as Leaderboard and SwingTrader.
Investors also can create watchlists, find companies nearing a buy point, or develop custom screens at IBD MarketSmith.
Four Dow Jones Stocks To Watch Now
Stock Market Earnings: Cloudflare, Monolithic
Cloudflare reported fourth-quarter results late Thursday that topped analyst estimates. In addition, the 2022 revenue guidance for NET stock came in above expectations. Shares climbed almost 4% Friday.
Chipmaker Monolithic Power Systems crushed Wall Street's targets for the fourth quarter and guided much higher for the current period. MPWR shares rose more than 11% early Friday. Chipmakers in general were higher in early trade, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF up 0.7% and the iShares Semiconductor ETF trading 0.8% higher.
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: American Express
American Express advanced 3.3% Tuesday, breaking out past what IBD MarketSmith chart analysis plotted as a cup base buy point at 189.13. Shares are in the 5% buy range that tops out at 198.59. AXP stock traded down 0.1% Friday.
Bullishly, the stock's relative strength line is at new highs, indicating significant stock market outperformance.
Four Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: BHP, Blackstone, Palo Alto, Stifel
Mining giant BHP Group broke out above a cup-with-handle entry on Thursday, moving past a 69.66 buy point and closing in on the top of the 5% buy zone, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. The relative strength line hit a recent high but remains far from its old highs, so that's a technical metric to watch. BHP shares declined 1.8% Friday.
IBD SwingTrader stock Blackstone is again approaching a double-bottom base's 136.56 buy point, and the stock is about 1% away from the entry following Thursday's 4.6% advance. Shares fell 1.6% Friday.
Thursday's IBD Stock Of The Day, Palo Alto Networks, is moving up the right side of a consolidation with a 572.77 buy point. Shares crossed the 50-day line Thursday, offering a potential lower entry. The cybersecurity leader will report earnings on Feb. 22, so an early breakout move will carry more risk. Palo Alto shares traded up nearly 1% Friday.
IBD Leaderboard stock Stifel Financial remains above a 78.70 buy point in a consolidation despite Thursday's 0.9% fall. Its RS line hit a new high Tuesday. Shares were down 0.6% Friday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock dropped 0.5% Friday, looking to rebound from Thursday's 2.9% decline. The stock found much-needed support at its long-term 200-day moving average in recent sessions. But Tesla shares remain sharply below their 50-day moving average and there is no proper entry in sight.
The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4, but ended Thursday about 27% off that 52-week high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple stock dropped 2.3% Thursday, snapping a two-day win streak and once again testing the key 50-day line. Shares are about 12% past a 153.27 buy point out of a cup-with-handle base, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Shares gained 0.1% Friday.
A new base is likely forming, but it is slightly too early for a proper buy point.
Software leader Microsoft tumbled 2.8% Thursday, as the top Dow Jones stock continues to build a new base. But shares remain below their 50-day line. MSFT stock was down 0.1% Friday.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
