Dow Jones futures fell slightly Thursday morning, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Walmart, Alibaba, Toast and Carvana were big earnings overnight.
The stock market rally had a quiet Wednesday on the major indexes with the S&P 500 pushing slightly further into new-high ground.
But growth stocks were volatile, with some big losers. Palantir Technologies plunged from record highs as the Trump administration reportedly has ordered the Pentagon to prepare for big spending cuts. Axon Enterprise sold off sharply Wednesday on competition fears, diving below a buy point and multiple support levels in an ugly expectations breaker. Cava also sold off, breaking below key levels after showing some promising signs recently.
Palantir stock and Axon are on the IBD 50. The video embedded in the article reviews Wednesday's market action and analyzes Axon stock, Cava and Brown & Brown.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures fell 0.3% vs. fair value, with Walmart stock a drag. S&P 500 futures lost 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.2%.
The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.51%.
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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Key Earnings
WMT stock fell sharply early Thursday. Walmart earnings topped with e-commerce sales strong, but the Dow Jones retail giant warned on fiscal 2026 and said it's not going to be "immune" if Trump tariffs take place vs. Canada and Mexico. Walmart stock edged up 0.2% to 104 on Wednesday. WMT stock hit a record 105.30 on Friday, extended from a 96.18 flat-base buy point.
BABA stock soared after Alibaba reported better-than-expected fiscal Q3 results. The e-commerce and cloud-computing giant dipped 1.1% to 125.56 on Wednesday after running up from an intraday low of 80.06 on Jan. 13 to a 52-week high on Tuesday. Alibaba stock is extended from a 103.67 cup-with-handle buy point, according to MarketSurge.
TOST stock edged higher in premarket trade after Toast reported mixed results Wednesday night. Toast stock fell 4.6% in Wednesday's session to 39.98, back below a 41.50 cup-with-handle buy point. Shares fell in reaction to rival Shift4, which dived 17.5% Wednesday on weak 2025 guidance.
CVNA stock sold off overnight, signaling a move back below a buy point. Carvana earnings beat but margins came in light. Carvana stock fell nearly 1% to 281.82 on Wednesday after hitting a record high intraday. The online used-car dealer is slightly extended from a V-shape, 35%-deep base.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally had a relatively quiet session, with the major indexes rising slightly in the afternoon. Minutes from the Jan. 28-29 Fed meeting held few surprises, with policymakers reinforcing views that rates will be on hold until inflation cools.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.2%, after setting a record high Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite edged up about 0.1%, inching toward its Dec. 16 peak. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.3%, back below the 50-day line.
In addition to Palantir, Axon, Shift4 and Cava stock, many other growth leaders sold off Wednesday. But, overall, growth stocks held up fine.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 0.6% to $72.25 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell one basis points to 4.535%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF slumped 1.55%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF gave up 1.75%, with Palantir stock a big holding. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF rose 0.4%.
ARK Innovation ETF declined 1.2% and ARK Genomics ETF rose 1.15%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF dropped 1.4%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF climbed 0.8% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund rallied 1.3%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund edged up 0.1%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF rose a fraction.
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Axon Stock Expectations Breaker
Wednesday's Axon sell-off was an expectations breaker.
Axon stock plummeted 16.4% to 593.42, decisively below the 689.54 cup-with-handle buy point cleared Tuesday. Northcoast analysts downgraded the Taser and body camera maker to neutral on Wednesday, citing the breakup with a key tech partner.
Shares broke below the 21-day and 50-day moving averages and triggered the 7%-8% sell rule.
AXON kept falling overnight.
Axon earnings are due Feb. 25.
Cava Stock Dives
Cava stock dived 10.4% to 119.42, tumbling below its 21-day and 50-day as well. The fast-casual chain had been setting up in a base with a 144.49 early entry. There wasn't direct news for Cava, but several restaurant stocks retreated as former leader Wingstop gapped lower again on earnings.
Cava, like Axon, also reports on Feb. 25.
Palantir Stock Plunges
Palantir tumbled 10.1% to 112.06 on Wednesday after briefly hitting a fresh all-time intraday high.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military's top brass to work up plans for an 8% defense budget cut, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing an internal memo and sources.
Palantir investors fear that could pinch the data analytics software play, which relies heavily on defense spending.
Also, late Tuesday CEO Alex Karp adopted a new trading plan to sell up to 9,975,000 shares through Sept. 12, worth more than $1 billion. That's the latest in a flurry of insider sales at Palantir. But that news didn't seem to hit PLTR stock.
PLTR stock undercut the 10-day line, but closed comfortably above the 21-day and 50-day line. The S&P 500's big winner in 2024 had been off to a great start in 2025, surging higher after blowout earnings and guidance earlier this month.
Shares fell solidly early Thursday.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally showed further positive action overall. If the Nasdaq can join the S&P 500 in new-high ground, bulls may be off and running.
Not many stocks flashed buy signals Wednesday. Tuesday's clear buy, Axon stock, was Wednesday's clear loser. When a position sells off like Axon, Cava or Shift4, you have to pay attention and take action to minimize losses.
Investors should keep working on their watchlists and stay engaged.
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