Dow Jones futures rose slightly Thursday night, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, with Netflix eyeing a breakout after earnings easily beat views. U.S. stock and bond markets are closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.
The stock market was mixed Thursday, with the Dow Jones slumping as UnitedHealth Group dived on weak guidance. The S&P 500 rose slightly as a booming Eli Lilly helped offset UNH stock. The Nasdaq edged lower. The major indexes all fell sharply for the holiday-shortened week.
MercadoLibre and Palantir Technologies are showing relative strength near buy points, but these are volatile names in a tough market.
Investors should remain defensive.
Netflix stock is on IBD Leaderboard watchlist. Netflix and Palantir stock are on the IBD 50 and IBD Big Cap 20.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures are now closed until Sunday evening.
ETFs that track the Dow Jones (DIA), S&P 500 (SPY) and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) showed slim gains as of Thursday night. DIA rose 0.3%, SPY climbed 0.1% and QQQ gained 0.35%. Netflix stock is an S&P 500 and Nasdaq giant.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Netflix Earnings
Netflix earnings comfortably beat first-quarter estimates, while revenue just edged views. The streaming media giant guided higher on Q2.
Netflix no longer provides subscriber figures or guidance.
NFLX stock rose 3.5% in late trade to 1,006.79, just above the 1,000 level and a buy point. Shares climbed 1.2% to 973.03 in Thursday's session. Netflix stock has a 998.70 double-bottom buy point. The relative strength line, the blue line in the charts provided, is already at a new high, a highly bullish sign.
Spotify edged higher in extended action. The music-and-podcast streaming leader, like Netflix, is relatively insulated from Trump tariffs and recession resistant. SPOT stock has a 621.20 double-bottom buy point, according to MarketSurge, but a clear move above the 50-day line would offer a trendline early entry.
Stock Market
The stock market had a mixed session to close a down week. Nvidia export curbs and Fed chief Jerome Powell's tariff-driven economic concerns drove Wednesday's sell-off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% in Thursday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index dipped 0.1%, with UnitedHealth easily the biggest loser and Eli Lilly stock the top performer. The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 climbed 0.9%.
For the week, the Dow Jones sank 2.7%, the S&P 500 shed 1.5% and the Nasdaq fell 2.6%. The Russell 2000 rose 1.1%.
A stock market rally attempt continues as long, but there has been no follow-through day yet. The major indexes fell back this week after hitting resistance multiple times at the 21-day moving average, with several other key levels above that.
Some stocks are showing relative strength, but there aren't a lot of setups. MercadoLibre popped 5.1% for the week to 2,099.37, above the 50-day line and just below a trendline entry within a double-bottom base. Palantir stock jumped 5.9% to 93.78 in the week, just above the 50-day line and near a 98.17 double-bottom buy point that it briefly topped earlier in the week.
Stocks that look promising can suddenly plunge, like UnitedHealth, in a weak market.
U.S. crude oil prices jumped 5.2% for the week to $64.68 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield tumbled nearly 17 basis points to 4.325% for the week, even with Thursday's gain of five basis points.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF 1.9% for the week. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF dipped 0.7%, with Palantir a key component. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF tumbled 4.4%, with Nvidia stock the top holding.
ARK Innovation ETF and ARK Genomics ETF both retreated 1.7%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF rose 1.7% for the week, while the Energy Select SPDR ETF gained 3.3%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund lost 1%, with UnitedHealth stock and Eli Lilly both top holdings.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund dipped 0.3%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF finished flat.
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What To Do Now
The stock market is in bad shape. Some, like Palantir, still look OK, but the risk-reward ratio isn't great. With the market below key levels and prone to massive moves on headlines, investors should be most or entirely in cash.
Earnings season will kick into high gear next week, with guidance and management commentary key.
Keep working on watchlists. Look for setups, but make sure to find stocks with strong relative strength, even if their charts aren't in position yet.
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.
