The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly dived 500 points before paring losses after weak quarterly results and a weak jobs report from the Labor Department. Amazon and Intel plunged while Apple rose modestly on the stock market today in the wake of their earnings reports.
After the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.1%, or 430 points, in morning action while the S&P 500 was down 1.3%. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite sold off 1.9% in morning action.
Early Friday, the 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower to 3.87%. Oil prices tumbled, with West Texas Intermediate futures trading around $74.50 a barrel.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust was down 2.3%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF dropped 1.5% after the open.
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Stock Market Today: Jobs Report
Early Friday, the Labor Department's July jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs last month, missing Econoday estimates that called for jobs growth of 180,000. That's down from June's 206,000 additions. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. It was expected to hold steady at 4.1%.
Amazon stock tumbled nearly 10% Friday after the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant reported mixed second-quarter results. Earnings beat expectations but revenue came in short of projections, despite a stronger-than-expected contribution from Amazon's cloud computing division. The tech giant's sales forecast was also lower than expected.
Further, Intel cratered more than 27% after badly missing Wall Street's targets for the second quarter and with its own forecast for the third quarter. The chip giant also announced a $10 billion cost-reduction plan and suspended its quarterly dividend.
Meanwhile, Apple beat expectations for its fiscal third quarter thanks to record services revenue and strong iPad sales. Apple stock rose more than 1% in early morning action.
Other key earnings movers Friday include Cloudflare, Coinbase Global, Snap, Block and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Cloudflare shares rallied 4%, while Coinbase stock edged higher. Snap stock plummeted 23%, as Block shares moved down 1.2%. And Vertex declined almost 2% in morning trading.
Finally, Exxon Mobil and Chevron were mixed, up 1% and down 2%, respectively.
Adjust To Changing Market Conditions, With IBD's New Exposure Levels
Dow Jones Sells Off
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sold off 1.2%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite plunged 2.3%. The small-cap Russell 2000 index tumbled 3%, its worst day since Feb. 13.
Amid the session's losses, IBD's Big Picture commented, "But Thursday was an expectation breaker that should keep IBD investors on the cautious side, near 60% exposure. Following Wednesday's strong gains, investors would have expected more upside or perhaps a modest loss. Instead, the major stock indexes fell sharply in higher volume than Wednesday's gains."
During Thursday's IBD Live show, the IBD Live team discussed the current trading conditions and how investors should handle the stock market today.
Now is an important time to read The Big Picture column amid the ongoing market action. Also, be sure to read how to adjust to changing market conditions, with IBD's new exposure levels.
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Stock Market Today: Best Stocks To Watch
Among the best companies to watch on the stock market today are GE Aerospace, ServiceNow, Shake Shack and Spotify.
Also on the list are Dow Jones components Amazon, American Express, Apple, IBM and Microsoft.
IBD MarketSurge's Breaking Out Today list included Clearwater Analytics, which topped a 21.89 buy point Thursday. Shares dropped nearly 3% Friday morning.
Check out the MarketSurge "Near Pivot" list for more stocks nearing buy points in bases. To find more stock ideas, check IBD Stock Lists like IBD 50, Big Cap 20 and Stocks Near A Buy Zone.
Get Real-Time Buy And Sell Alerts On Stock Market Leaders With IBD Leaderboard
Dow Jones: American Express, IBM
Among Dow components, payments giant American Express moved further above a flat base's 244.41 entry following Thursday's gains, according to MarketSurge pattern recognition. Shares dropped 2.8% Friday.
Meanwhile, IBM added to last week's breakout gains Thursday, higher above a 189.47 cup-with-handle entry. IBM stock lost 0.6% early Friday.
Outside the Dow Jones index, GE stock's recent breakout past a 170.80 buy point remains under pressure and shares are just below the entry. Shares fell 2.4% early Friday.
ServiceNow continues to hold above a 806.52 handle entry. ServiceNow lost 4% early Friday.
Shake Shack soared nearly 17% Thursday, building the right side of a cup base that has a 111.29 buy point. Shares gave back 4.3% Friday morning.
Finally, music streaming platform Spotify closed above a flat base's 331.08 buy point following a recent breakout move. And on Friday morning, Spotify stock fell 2.7%.
Find The Best Stocks To Buy And Watch With IBD Stock Screener And IBD Screen Of The Day
Stock Market Today: Companies To Watch
These are four stocks in or near buy zones in today's stock market.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Buy Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenet Healthcare | 142.35 | Flat base | |
| KB Home | 74.66 | Flat base | |
| ServiceNow | 806.52 | Handle entry | |
| Newmont | 44.59 | Flat base |
Source: IBD Data as of July 25
Join IBD Experts As They Analyze Leading Stocks In The Stock Market Today On IBD Live
Magnificent Seven Stocks: Nvidia, Tesla
Magnificent Seven stocks Nvidia and Tesla fell 3% and 1.3%, respectively, in morning trading.
Nvidia stock, an IBD Leaderboard name, tumbled nearly 7% Thursday after finding resistance at its key 50-day moving average.
Tesla stock skidded 6.6% Thursday, falling back to last week's lows. Shares continue to hold above their 50-day line.
Dow Jones Leaders: Amazon, Apple
Among Dow Jones components in the Magnificent Seven, Microsoft traded 1.9% lower after Friday's stock market open.
Microsoft inched lower Thursday, extending a losing streak to three sessions. Shares fell further below their 50-day line.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market today.
