The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly fell more than 250 points Friday morning, as markets positioned for the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Blue chips JPMorgan Chase and UnitedHealth Group reported their fourth-quarter earnings results. Delta Air Lines kicked off the reporting season for travel stocks. And Tesla stock dived after the electric-vehicle giant cut prices on some of its cars sold in the U.S. by nearly 20%.
Earnings Season Heats Up: JPMorgan, UnitedHealth
Earnings season went into full swing Friday, as Bank of America, Citigroup, Delta Air Lines, JPMorgan, UnitedHealth and Wells Fargo all reported results.
Dow Jones stocks JPMorgan and UnitedHealth both fell ahead of the market open after their respective earnings results. JPM shares lost 3% despite topping fourth-quarter estimates. UnitedHealth shares fell 1.3% even after beating fourth-quarter targets.
Other banking giants Bank of America and Wells Fargo also reported. Bank of America shares declined 1%, while Wells Fargo dropped nearly 4%. Citigroup fell 1.2% after its better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Delta shares slid more than 4% after reporting disappointing first-quarter guidance.
Stock Market Today
EV leader Tesla traded down around 5% Friday, and is threatening to give up a large part of a more-than-9% weekly gain. Dow Jones tech giants Apple and Microsoft were both squarely lower after today's stock market open.
Deere, IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Fluor, IBD Stock Of The Day Medpace and Rio Tinto — as well as Dow Jones names Caterpillar, Chevron and Walmart — are among the top stocks to buy and watch with the market testing the strength of a new rally.
Medpace is an IBD Leaderboard stock. Caterpillar and Rio were featured in this week's recent Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields
After Friday's opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, as JPMorgan took the index's hardest hit. The S&P 500 declined 0.8%. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.8% in morning action, with Tesla at the bottom of the list.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust dropped 0.8% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF traded down 0.8% early Friday.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.46% Friday morning, set to snap a two-day slide, but still on pace for solid weekly losses.
Oil prices rose a fraction, leaning toward a seventh straight advance, and on pace to rally more than 6% for the week. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.2%, topping $78 a barrel — and nearing the $80 level which has capped oil price gains for the past two months.
Stock Market Rally
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite moved up 0.6% and closed above the 50-day moving average for a second straight day.
Thursday's The Big Picture column commented, "IBD's stock market outlook remains 'confirmed uptrend,' after strong gains in recent sessions. Still, it makes sense to remain conservatively invested, with an invested percentage of 20%-40%. If you're making progress with your recent purchases, then you can be at the top of that range. But if your purchases are struggling, then it doesn't make sense to keep raising exposure. So, keep it lighter until your trades start to gain traction."
Five Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch Now
Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch: Caterpillar, Chevron, Walmart
Dow Jones member Caterpillar's latest breakout move continues to gain traction and is out of its buy range past what IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition charts as a flat base buy point at 239.95. The buy zone went up to 251.95. Bullishly, the stock's relative strength line, a key technical indicator, is at new highs. Shares climbed 0.3% Friday.
CAT stock shows a strong 98 out of a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating, per the IBD Stock Checkup. The Composite Rating is designed to help investors easily find top growth stocks.
Energy giant Chevron is finding stout resistance at its 50-day line, as it continues to build a cup base that has a 189.78 buy point. CVX shares rose 0.1% Friday morning.
Discount retailer Walmart is also seeing resistance at its 50-day line amid Thursday's 0.9% loss. Shares are building a cup-with-handle base that has a 154.74 buy point and are about 5% away from the latest entry. Walmart shares gained0.6% Friday morning.
4 Top Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch In The Stock Market Rally
Top Stocks To Buy And Watch: Deere, Fluor, Medpace, Rio
Recent IBD Stock Of The Day, Deere, continues to trace a flat base with a 448.50 buy point. Shares have their eye on the buy point as they rebound from a test of 50-day support and are just 3% away from the entry. Deere shares were down 0.1% Friday morning.
IBD Leaderboard watch list stock Fluor is rapidly approaching a flat base that has a 36.16 buy point, as shares moved further above their 50-day line Thursday. FLR stock was down 0.4% early Friday.
Tuesday's IBD Stock Of The Day Medpace snapped its four-day win streak Thursday, falling 0.3%. On Tuesday, shares moved above an early entry at 220.09. Meanwhile, the stock is building a consolidation with a correct buy point at 235.82. Medpace shares were down 0.6% Friday.
Rio Tinto raced more than 3% higher Thursday, moving out of the buy area of 73.45 buy point out of a cup with handle. The buy area went up to 77.13. Rio shares traded down 0.8% Friday.
Stocks To Buy And Watch In Stock Market Rally
These are seven top stocks to buy and watch in today's stock market, including three Dow Jones leaders.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deere | 448.50 | Flat base | |
| Fluor | 36.16 | Flat base | |
| Rio Tinto | 73.45 | Cup with handle | |
| Medpace | 235.82 | Consolidation | |
| Caterpillar | 239.95 | Flat base | |
| Chevron | 189.78 | Cup base | |
| Walmart | 154.74 | Cup with handle |
Source: IBD Data As Of Jan. 12, 2023
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock inched higher Thursday, closing at its highest level since Dec. 22. Shares remain sharply below their 50- and 200-day lines. Last week, shares hit a 52-week low at 101.81. Tesla stock closed Thursday about 68% off its 52-week high.
Shares of the EV giant threatened to give up a large part of this week's gains, trading down around 5% Friday morning.
Tesla slashed the price of its baseline Model Y crossover by almost 20% to $52,990 and cut the price of a high-performance version of its Model 3 sedan by 14%, which now costs $53,990. The company also lowered prices for its Model S luxury sedans and Model X sport-utility vehicles.
In addition, the company also prices on some models throughout Europe.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares edged lower Thursday, ending a four-day win streak. Last week, the stock hit a new 52-week low of 124.17. The stock remains around 26% off its 52-week high. AAPL stock traded down 1.3% Friday.
Microsoft stock rallied another 1.2% Thursday, extending a win streak to five trading days. The software giant is about 26% off its 52-week high. Microsoft shares lost 1.1% early Friday.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
