The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes traded sharply lower Friday as Wall Street reacted to a stronger-than-expected December jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department. An early loser on the stock market today was Nvidia, while chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor dropped despite robust December sales.
After the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, or 600 points, while the S&P 500 declined 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite moved down 2.3% in morning trades.
Oil prices rallied to their highest levels since early October, with West Texas Intermediate futures trading around $76.85 per barrel.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust fell 2.3%, as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF lost 1.7% after the open.
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Stock Market Today: Nvidia, Jobs Report
The Labor Department's December jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs in December, far above the 157,000 Econoday estimate. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. but was anticipated to hold steady at 4.2%.
Along with a sharp drop in equities, the news prompted a spike in bond yields. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.75% early Friday.
In stocks, Nvidia sold off 4% Friday after Bloomberg reported Wednesday night that the Biden administration is set to impose even tighter curbs on artificial intelligence and other advanced chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Shares are threatening to fall decisively below their 50-day moving average, a key level to watch.
The AI chip leader briefly touched a new record this week but has since fallen sharply. Shares gave up a 146.54 buy point out of a double-bottom base. Advanced Micro shares fell nearly 3%
Constellation Brands, Delta Air Lines and Walgreen Boots Alliance were early earnings movers Friday premarket.
Shares of Constellation Brands plunged 4.2% in early trading, while Delta stock rallied more than 6%. Walgreens soared more than 15% in morning action.
Meanwhile, Nvidia chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor declined 1.1% despite reporting strong December sales ahead of the market open.
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Dow Jones Rises
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq inched lower.
Among the best companies to watch in the current stock market are Boston Scientific, Fortinet, Interactive Brokers Intuitive Surgical and Netflix.
Dow Jones components making notable moves were Amazon.com, Apple, American Express and Microsoft.
American Express is 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.
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Dow Jones: American Express Nears Buy Point
Dow Jones component American Express is building a flat base that offers a 307.82 buy point, according to MarketSurge pattern recognition. Shares fell 1.2% Friday.
Outside the Dow Jones index, Boston Scientific is breaking out past a flat base's 91.93 entry. It's on Investor's Business Daily's SwingTrader list. Shares moved down 0.1% Friday.
Cybersecurity leader Fortinet is finding support at its 50-day line as it holds just below a flat base's 100.59 buy point. Shares were down 1.2% Friday morning.
Interactive Brokers is just below a cup base's 193.42 entry. The stock fell 1.7% Friday.
Intuitive Surgical rallied 2.3% Wednesday, bouncing from the 50-day line. Intuitive stock dropped 0.1% Friday.
Streaming giant Netflix fell 0.5% Wednesday, holding above its key 50-day line. It was Tuesday's IBD Stock Of The Day. Netflix stock moved down 1.4% in morning action Friday.
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | 193.42 | Cup base | |
| Disney | 118.63 | Cup with handle | |
| TSMC | 205.63 | Cup with handle | |
| Fortinet | 100.59 | Flat base |
Source: IBD Data as of Jan. 7
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Tesla Stock
Tesla stock edged higher Wednesday, still holding above last week's lows. Shares are about 19% off their all-time high, which was set on Dec. 18.
The electric-vehicle giant threatened to erase those gains Friday, as it lost 2.3% in early trading.
Dow Jones Leaders: Amazon, Apple, Microsoft
Besides Nvidia, another Dow Jones component in the Magnificent Seven is Amazon stock, which inched up Wednesday. Amid its recent move into new highs in mid-December, the e-commerce giant is sharply extended above a 201.20 buy point. It fell 2.5% Friday.
Shares of Apple tumbled back into buy range above a flat base's 237.49 entry during recent losses. They reversed up 0.5% Wednesday but sold off 2.6% early Friday.
Microsoft shares dropped 2.1% Friday morning, after closing squarely below their 50-day line Wednesday. The software giant is building a cup with handle that has a 456.16 buy point.
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.
