The Dow Jones fell solidly early Friday, along with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, amid fears that Iran will attack Israel and trigger a wider Mideast conflict. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup earnings also are in focus on the stock market today.
Meanwhile, Tesla fell slightly as a long-time bull warned that Chief Executive Elon Musk must move quickly to avoid a robotaxi "debacle."
Also in the market, South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang jumped early Friday, breaking out of a base on a big membership fee increase.
Further, China has ordered telecoms to phase out key foreign chips, hitting Intel and Advanced Micro Devices the hardest, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday morning. Intel and AMD stock fell solidly Friday morning.
And Nvidia stock edged lower after strong moves in the prior two sessions. Nvidia stock is on IBD Leaderboard and SwingTrader. Nvidia and Citigroup stock are on the IBD 50.
Dow Jones Falls In Stock Market Today
Israel reportedly expects a potential direct attack from Iran within a few days or even hours, hitting the Dow and knocking yields. Crude oil prices rose more than 2%, partly on Mideast tensions.
The Dow Jones fell 0.8%, with JPMorgan and Intel stock putting a drag on the index in addition to the Mideast news. The S&P 500 retreated 0.8% and the Nasdaq dropped 1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield tumbled to 4.49%.
Copper prices climbed more than 1%, with gold up over 2% and silver soaring nearly 5%.
At 10 a.m. ET, the University of Michigan released its consumer sentiment index. The April gauge fell 1.5 points to 77.9 vs. views for a slight dip to 79. But the year-ahead inflation expectations gauge picked up to 3.1% from 2.9%.
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Stock Market Rallies, With Nvidia's Help
The Nasdaq ran to a record close in Thursday's stock market trading, led by Nvidia and artificial intelligence stocks. The S&P 500 reclaimed its 21-day moving average. But the Dow Jones closed fractionally lower, below its 50-day moving average.
Techs led as the Nasdaq composite leapt 1.7%. And the S&P 500 index rose 0.7%.
U.S. crude oil futures declined 1.4% to $85.02 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 2 basis points to 4.575%, a five-month high.
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Bank Earnings Season Kicks Off
Early on the stock market today, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and BlackRock reported results, kicking off the bank earnings season.
JPMorgan beat first-quarter views, but kept its full-year outlook for net interest income below analyst forecasts. Wells Fargo beat on the top and bottom line.
JPMorgan stock fell solidly. Wells Fargo and Citigroup was little changed. JPMorgan stock, Wells Fargo and Citigroup had been finding support around their 21-day lines following strong advances.
Wells Fargo stock has a five-weeks-tight entry of 58.44.
BlackRock earnings beat views with the asset management giant slightly topping first-quarter revenue views. BlackRock stock fell slightly, retreating further from its 50-day line.
Stock Market Today: Nvidia Stock Holds Gains
Nvidia stock declined slightly Friday morning, still on track for a weekly gain. On Thursday, shares jumped 4.1% to 906.16, moving above the 21-day line and breaking a short downtrend.
That offered an early entry in to Nvidia stock, a day after a bullish rebound from the 10-week line.
Nvidia's Thursday gain buoyed other AI chipmakers and the broader market.
Nvidia stock is set to have a flat base with a 974 buy point after Friday's close.
Coupang Jumps On Fee Increase
Korean e-commerce giant Coupang will hike its monthly membership fee by 58%. The fee now equals $5.72 in U.S. dollars.
The higher fee starts April 13 for new members, with existing members paying the higher fee in August. Coupang cited increased discounts a free delivery for Coupang Eats.
Coupang jumped 10% to 20.98 on the stock market today. That's clearing a 19.78 buy point from a cup-with-handle base.
Tesla Robotaxi Is Not 'The Answer'
Wedbush's Dan Ives, in a note to clients released shortly before Thursday's close, signaled his concern that Tesla's planned Aug. 8 robotaxi unveiling could mean a long-anticipated cheap electric vehicle would be shelved for years. Ives said the so-called Model 2, which had been expected in late 2025 or early 2026, would drive some 60% of Tesla's growth. He believes full autonomy is unlikely before 2030.
"If robotaxis is viewed as the 'magic model' to replace Model 2 we would view this as a debacle negative for the Tesla story. It would be a risky gamble if Tesla moved away from the Model 2 and went straight to robotaxis," Ives wrote. He added CEO Musk must regain investor confidence quickly, starting with the conference call after first-quarter earnings on April 23.
Ives kept his Tesla stock outperform rating and 300 price target.
Separately, there is social media chatter that Tesla will cut its monthly Full Self-Driving subscription to $99 from $199. That could spur more subscriptions, but also reduce $12,000 Full Self-Driving purchases.
Tesla stock fell slightly on the stock market today. Shares are up strongly so far this week on robotaxi buzz, even as Tesla analysts raise concerns. Tesla stock remains below its 10-week moving average, which has been a key resistance area this year.
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