The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher even as Intel cratered on earnings. A trio of buys by famed fund manager Cathie Wood popped, including Teladoc Health as she closes in on a record month. Tesla roared as CEO Elon Musk met Biden administration officials.
Meanwhile, a trio of noteworthy stocks attempted breakouts amid the encouraging action: Box, Titan Machinery and Knight-Swift Transportation.
Stocks were boosted after the Personal Consumption Expenditure price index year-over-year rate slowed to 5% in December from 5.5% in November, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is the preferred inflation gauge used by the Federal Reserve for monetary policy.
Nasdaq Pops As IBD 50 Fades
The Nasdaq was the strongest of the major indexes as it gained 1%. EV stock Lucid was the clear winner here as it soared 43%. Trading was halted several times due to volatility.
The S&P 500 faded late as it added 0.3%. The S&P 500 sectors were mostly positive. Consumer discretionary and communication services fared best while health and energy were the worst laggards.
Small caps also rose, with the Russell 2000 closing up 0.4%. Growth stocks also jumped, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF rising 0.2%.
Dow Jones Gains Even As Intel Stock Crumbles
The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw gains fade as it closed up just 0.1%.
American Express soared 10.5% after it guided higher for 2023. Earnings fell 5% while revenue popped 17%, both missing Wall Street views.
Intel was hammered 6.4% after it missed Wall Street expectations for Q4 while also guiding for a loss in Q1.
The firm is dealing with weak PC sales, production problems and market share losses to rival Advanced Micro Devices.
Tesla Stock Soars Amid Elon Musk Meeting
Tesla was one of the day's top performers as it popped 11%.
It came as CEO Elon Musk met two Biden administration officials to see how they could work together. He met Biden's senior advisor for clean energy innovation John Podesta, and Mitch Landrieu who oversees infrastructure spending.
"John Podesta and Mitch Landrieu met with Elon Musk to discuss shared goals around electrification and how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act can advance electric vehicle production and charging as well as the broader cause of electrification," a White House spokesperson told Reuters.
Tesla stock had one of its best days since Jan. 3, 2022, when it rose 13.5%. Up 33.3% for the week, it was Tesla's best weekly gain since May 2013, when it rallied nearly 41%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Cathie Wood Buys Jump As She Heads For Monster Month
ARK Invest portfolio manager Cathie Wood, a big Tesla backer, saw some new buys pay off immediately Friday.
Teladoc Health jumped 6.5%. It is trying to catch up to its 200-day moving average after previously retaking its 50-day line, MarketSmith analysis shows.
Intellia Therapeutics managed to clamber back above its 50-day moving average after it gained nearly 8%. Volume was below average, however.
Beam Therapeutics is trading just below its 200-day line after popping 3.3%.
Wood added to all three stocks across her various funds Thursday. Her famous ARK Innovation ETF is headed for its best month ever. The fund is up more than 29% so far this month.
If it can maintain this performance, it will easily beat the nearly 26% gain it turned in back in April 2020.
Why This May Be A Life-Changing Rally; 4 Stocks Near Buy Points
New Leader Offers Early Entry
Visteon is actionable after it cleared a trendline entry Friday. It is also closing in on a consolidation buy point of 152.20.
The relative strength line is making progress once again after taking a pause during its base building period. The stock was promoted from the Leaders Watchlist to the IBD Leaderboard list of top stocks.
The Detroit firm is a leading supplier of automotive parts for vehicle manufacturers. It specializes in ride performance and clean air products and systems.
Overall excellent performance is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 99. It counts industry giants Ford and General Motors among its major customers.
Outside Dow Jones: 3 Stocks Test Buy Points
Database software play Box is trading in a buy zone after clearing a flat base entry of 32.10. This is a first-stage base.
Overall performance is very strong, with its IBD Composite Rating a near-perfect 97.
Titan Machinery tested a cup-with-handle entry of 43.59. The move came in low volume, a flaw, and the stock closed below the entry.
Knight-Swift Transportation briefly cleared a buy point of 62.39 but faded. The move came in high volume as the trucking firm missed analyst views for the latest quarter.
Please follow Michael Larkin on Twitter at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
