Dow Jones futures fell modestly early Friday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, as Google-parent Alphabet rose late on earnings.
T-Mobile US, Gilead Sciences and Intel fell overnight on their results. Tesla rival BYD reported booming earnings early Friday.
The stock market rally had another powerful session, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite getting above a key short-term level. The Nasdaq had its third straight 2%-plus gain, the first time that's happened since April 2001. Hope for earlier Fed rate cuts helped fuel gains, along with some optimism about AI data center demand.
Investors should be building exposure gradually.
CrowdStrike, Take-Two Interactive, Marex Group, Penumbra, MercadoLibre and Loar Holdings flashed buy signals. All have relative strength lines at highs, a bullish sign.
CrowdStrike stock and Loar Holdings are on IBD Leaderboard. Marex stock and CrowdStrike are on the IBD 50. Marex Group and Loar stock are on the IPO Leaders list.
The video embedded in the article discusses Thursday's market action and analyzes CrowdStrike, Penumbra and Take-Two stock.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures fell 0.5% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures declined 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.4%. Google stock is an S&P 500 and Nasdaq giant.
The 10-yaer Treasury yield dipped to 4.28%.
Crude oil futures declined more than 1%.
China is considering waving its 125% tariff on some crucial U.S. goods, including medical equipment and industrial chemicals, Bloomberg reported, sources said.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live
Google Earnings
Google earnings beat with revenue also topping thanks to search advertising. Google Cloud and YouTube ad revenue was in line.
Google reported strong capital spending in Q1 and forecast heavy capex for the year, providing further optimism for artificial intelligence investment. Earlier Thursday, Amazon.com and Nvidia executives dismissed concerns about slowing AI data center demand at a conference, CNBC reported. AI infrastructure firm Vertiv reported a strong AI buildout in its earnings report.
Google stock rose solidly in overnight trade. Shares rose 2.4% to 159.03 on Thursday, a third straight solid gain. But GOOGL stock is still in a downtrend, below its 50-day and 200-day lines.
Meta Platforms and Amazon stock, which report next week, rose overnight on Google's results.
Other Key Earnings
T-Mobile stock fell solidly in premarket trade as wireless subscriber gains fell short. TMUS stock climbed 1.1% to 262.18 on Thursday, back above the 50-day line. T-Mobile stock has a 276.49 flat-base buy point, but early entries are available around 268 and at 272.60.
Gilead stock declined modestly overnight as earnings beat but revenue missed. GILD stock edged down 0.2% to 106.15 on Thursday, slightly below the 50-day line. Gilead stock has a 119.96 base-on-base buy point, but a decisive clearing of the 50-day line would offer an early entry.
Intel stock slumped in extended action. Earnings beat but the ailing chip giant cut guidance and capex plans. INTC stock rose 4.4% on Thursday, but is below its 50-day and long-sliding 200-day lines.
BYD earnings were released early Friday, with net income doubling vs. a year earlier in local currency, in line with preliminary results released earlier in the month. Net income topped Tesla's for the first time. Revenue grew 36% in local currency terms, slightly missing targets.
BYD stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., is not yet trading. Shares climbed 1.9% Thursday, working toward highs in an emerging consolidation.
Tesla stock edged higher Friday morning, extending post-earnings gains, but below key levels.
Tesla Vs. BYD: Tesla Earnings Dive But Investors Bet On Self-Driving
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally had yet another powerful session on Thursday. Two Fed officials signaled a willingness to cut rates in response to Trump tariffs, focusing on bolstering growth vs. curbing inflation. Optimism about Trump tariffs and AI also fueled gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2% in Thursday's stock market trading, even with IBM acting as a drag. The S&P 500 index popped 2%, its first three-day streak of 1%-plus gains in two years. The Nasdaq composite jumped 2.7%. The small-cap Russell 2000 rallied 2%. All but the Dow moved above their 21-day moving averages, which has acted as resistance in recent months.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are closing in on the April 9 highs, which roughly coincide with their March lows. Above that the 50-day and 200-day lines loom.
More stocks broke out or flashed buy signals Thursday, including CrowdStrike. Several stocks extended moves past buy points, while many more are setting up or flirting with entries.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 0.8% to $62.79 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell eight basis points to 4.3%. While investors see almost no chance of a rate cut on May 7, they're leaning toward a June rate cut, with a growing chance that policymakers will reduce rates by 50 basis points by the late July meeting.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF rose 2%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF surged 4.9%, with CrowdStrike stock a notable component. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF leapt 5.1%, with Intel stock in the ETF.
ARK Innovation ETF ran 4.1% higher and ARK Genomics ETF popped 3.1%. Tesla stock is the No. 1 holding across ARK Invest's ETFs. Cathie Wood's ARK also owns a small stake in BYD.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF gained 3.3%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF rose 1.5% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund climbed 1.2%, with Gilead stock in XLV.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund closed 2.2% higher.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF advanced 1.1%.
Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Stocks In Buy Areas
CrowdStrike stock jumped 7.3% to 413.92, running past a 400.02 cup-with-handle buy point.
Take-Two stock rose 4.4% to 22.71 in heavy volume, moving above multiple buy points at 216, 218.75 and 220.93.
Marex stock gained 3.8% to 40.70, back above a 40.05 consolidation buy point, according to MarketSurge.
Penumbra stock popped 7.1% to 298.48 on strong earnings. After some early wobbles, PEN stock rebounded from the 50-day line and cleared a 288.57 double-bottom buy point.
Loar stock jumped 6.9% to 91.87, breaking out from a 90.79 cup-with-handle buy point.
MercadoLibre stock rallied 3% to 2,204.81, just topping a 2,202 double-bottom buy point.
What To Do Now
The market rally continues to show strength, with the major indexes and leading stocks giving more reason to be confident. Still, one tweet or headline related to Trump tariffs could quickly up-end all the recent gains.
Investors can be adding more exposure, doing so gradually. If the stock market rally has legs, it won't take long to go from, say, 20% invested to 90% even with incremental buys.
As you add exposure, be careful about concentrating too much in speculative growth names with high average true ranges.
So as you build your watchlists, cast a wide net, seeking out growth and defensive growth names from a variety of sectors. Pay attention to earnings season.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
