The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged Tuesday after some mixed messages from Russia regarding troops along the Ukraine border. Travel issues rallied as California joined the states ending their mask requirements. And Arista Networks and Continental Resources diverged after reporting earnings late Monday, while Huntsman rallied on its results ahead of the market open.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, Boeing and Microsoft traded up around 2% in today's stock market. Apple rose more than 1%, while Chevron tumbled more than 2% as oil prices retreated on the Ukraine news. American Express, a Dow Jones stock to watch, is in buy range after last week's breakout.
Cruise line operators and airlines packed the top of the S&P 500 in early trade. Arista Networks headed the index, up over 6% after topping fourth-quarter analyst targets Monday and providing strong guidance. Electric-vehicle leader Tesla rallied more than 2% Tuesday, looking to add to Monday's gain.
Amid a volatile stock market rally, BHP Group, Deere, Palo Alto Networks and Stifel Financial are among Tuesday's top stocks to buy and watch. All four stocks are in or near new buy zones.
Microsoft, Stifel and Tesla are IBD Leaderboard stocks. American Express was featured in last week's Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Deere is an IBD SwingTrader stock. Palo Alto was Thursday's IBD Stock of the Day.
Dow Jones Today: Russia-Ukraine Crisis
After the stock market open Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 0.8%, while the S&P 500 rose 1%. The Nasdaq climbed 1.5% in morning trade. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust jumped 1.5%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF moved up 1.1% after Tuesday's open.
Early Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said it had pulled back about 10,000 of 130,000 troops estimated to be positioned around Ukraine. However, large-scale military maneuvers continued, and Western officials warned that combat units were advancing toward Ukraine.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to 2.04% Tuesday morning. On Monday, the 10-year Treasury yield briefly traded above 2% before settling at 1.99%.
U.S. oil prices tumbled Tuesday morning, as West Texas Intermediate crude slid almost 4%. WTI moved back below $92 a barrel following Monday's jump above $95 a barrel.
Cruise line operators Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines each rallied about 4%. American Airlines jumped 4%, and Delta Air Lines climbed 3% in morning trade. California said Monday it would end its overall statewide mask mandate on Wednesday, while Maryland said it would end its mandate in public buildings. Rhode Island, Delaware and Nevada lifted statewide mandates last week.
The number of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. is declining from a January peak. New cases on Monday averaged around 175,000 per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That is down from around 800,000 per day in mid-January. The average number of coronavirus-related deaths remains high, averaging 2,200 per day on Monday.
Stock Market Rally Struggles
The stock market posted mostly disappointing action Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ended squarely lower. Amid the recent volatility, now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column.
Monday's The Big Picture commented, "It's difficult to gauge the stock market's direction in a volatile period like the present, and it's smarter to trade cautiously until stocks settle down. For now, investor sentiment suggests indexes could be bottoming, at least in the short term."
If you're new to IBD, consider taking a look at its stock trading system and CAN SLIM basics. Recognizing chart patterns is one key to the investment guidelines. IBD offers a broad range of growth stock lists, such as Leaderboard and SwingTrader.
Investors also can create watchlists, find companies nearing a buy point, or develop custom screens at IBD MarketSmith.
Four Dow Jones Stocks To Watch Now
Stock Market Earnings: Arista, Continental
Arista Networks and Continental Resources provided insight to two very different industries after the close Monday.
Cloud software leader Arista reported strong fourth-quarter earnings and sales results, sparking a 6% surge in morning trade. ANET shares found stout resistance at their 50-day line last week, but may be set to reclaim that level on Tuesday.
Continental, a leading shale oil producer, plunged more than 11% early Tuesday. The fall came after the company's better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, but appeared to be tied more to falling oil prices than the quarterly report. CLR shares ended Monday extended past a cup-with-handle's 53.76 entry.
Chemicals maker Huntsman ended out of buy range past a 34.57 flat-base entry Monday. The company reported strong fourth-quarter results early Tuesday, as shares rallied nearly 3% in morning trade.
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: American Express
American Express broke out past what IBD MarketSmith chart analysis plotted as a cup base buy point at 189.13 and is in the 5% buy range that tops out at 198.59. AXP stock traded up more than 1% early Tuesday.
Bullishly, the stock's relative strength line is at new highs, indicating significant stock market outperformance.
Four Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: BHP, Deere, Palo Alto, Stifel
Mining giant BHP Group fell further below a cup-with-handle entry at 69.66 with a drop of nearly 1% Monday. IBD MarketSmith chart analysis shows the stock's relative strength line continuing to ascend, but is far from its old highs — so that's a technical metric to watch. BHP shares declined around 2% early Tuesday.
IBD SwingTrader stock Deere is just below a cup-with-handle's 388.20 buy point after last week's breakout move. The 5% buy zone goes up to 407.61. Shares dropped 1.4% Monday. DE shares rose more than 1% early Tuesday.
Thursday's IBD Stock Of The Day, Palo Alto Networks, is moving up the right side of a consolidation with a 572.77 buy point. Shares rebounded from Friday's sharp losses, moving up 2.1% Monday and ending just below the 50-day line. The cybersecurity leader will report earnings on Feb. 22, so an early breakout move will carry more risk. PANW shares moved up nearly 2% early Tuesday.
IBD Leaderboard stock Stifel Financial fell further below its 78.70 buy point in a consolidation following Monday's 1.6% drop. Its RS line hit a new high last week. Stifel shares gained 1.5% early Tuesday.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock raced more than 2% higher Tuesday morning, set to add to Monday's 1.8% climb. The stock is again approaching its long-term 200-day line after finding support there previously in late January. Tesla shares remain sharply below their 50-day moving average. There is no proper entry in sight, as the stock continues to consolidate.
The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4, but ended Monday about 30% off that all-time high.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple stock reversed from early losses to move up 0.1% Monday, but remains below its key 50-day moving average line. A new consolidation shows a buy point at 183.04, but a decisive move above last week's high of 176.65 could be an early entry for aggressive investors. Apple shares rallied over 1% early Tuesday.
Software leader Microsoft edged lower Monday, as the top Dow Jones stock looks for support around its long-term 200-day line. MSFT stock moved up around 2% Tuesday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
