Dow Jones futures rose modestly Friday morning, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, with the Fed's favorite inflation gauge due out before the open.
The stock market rally had a mixed session Thursday. The Dow Jones hit a fresh record high while small-caps also rallied. But the S&P 500 and Nasdaq erased solid gains as Nvidia fell solidly following earnings.
ServiceNow, CyberArk Software, GE Vernova, Palantir Technologies and Shift4 all flashed buy signals.
Late Thursday, Dell Technologies, Autodesk, Marvell Technology and MongoDB were notable earnings winners. ADSK stock had closed in buy range while Marvell could offer some early entries. Dell and especially MongoDB need repair work.
Nvidia, CyberArk and ServiceNow stock are on IBD Leaderboard. Nvidia stock is on the IBD 50. Palantir stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20.
PCE Inflation Report
The July personal consumption expenditures index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The PCE index and the Fed's favored measure, the core PCE index, should rise 0.2% vs. June. PCE inflation should hold at 2.5% vs. a year earlier while core PCE inflation edges up to 2.7%.
Markets have paid close attention to the PCE data for several months, but the stakes are lower now after Fed chief Jerome Powell made it clear on Aug. 23 that policymakers will start cutting rates.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures climbed 0.3% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.85%, suggesting that the Nasdaq composite could move back to its 50-day line.
Nvidia stock was up slightly before the open, along with most big techs.
Remember that premarket action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally had a broad-solid advance for much of Thursday's action, but turned mixed as Nvidia extended losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% in Thursday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index fell less than one point. The Nasdaq composite declined 0.2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 climbed fine, up 0.7%.
The market rally looked strong for much of Thursday as long as Nvidia was down but still holding the 50-day. But as the market's most important stock broke lower, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell back.
The Nasdaq, which reclaimed its 50-day line intraday, closed just above its 21-day.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.9% to $75.91 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 3 basis points to 3.87%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF dipped 0.1%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rose 1.3%. ServiceNow stock is a key IGV component, with Palantir also in the ETF. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF fell 1.2%. Nvidia stock is the dominant SMH holding.
Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF climbed 0.9% and ARK Genomics ETF advanced 1.1%
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF popped 1.25%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF lost a fraction. The Energy Select SPDR ETF gained 1.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund rose 0.2%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund rallied 0.7%, with the Financial Select SPDR ETF up 0.9%.
Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Nvidia Stock
Nvidia beat Q2 expectations with earnings and revenue growth for a fifth straight quarter. The AI leader also raised Q3 guidance, with CEO Jensen Huang saying that next-generation Blackwell processors will be shipped in volume in Q4. Nvidia also added $50 billion to its buyback.
But the beat and guidance were relatively modest vs. prior quarters.
NVDA stock tumbled 6.4% to 117.59. After trading around the 50-day line for much of Thursday, shares took another leg down mid-afternoon.
Nvidia stock rose slightly early Friday, moving back toward the 50-day and 10-week lines.
After Friday's close, Nvidia stock is on track to have a handle, giving it a lower official buy point of 131.26.
One problem with Nvidia's chart is that the current consolidation has a number of high-volume down days, including Thursday, while not much on the upside.
Stocks In Buy Zones
ServiceNow stock climbed 2.1% to 831.27, briefly topping a short trendline and a short-term high of 843.26. Shares are still in buy range from an 815.32 consolidation. On Friday, NOW stock is set to have a flat base with an 850.33 buy point.
CyberArk stock rose 2.3% to 286.51, closing above buy points at 283 and 284.10 for the first time. Shares may have gotten a boost from CrowdStrike earnings late Wednesday.
GE Vernova stock leapt 4% to 191.36, moving back above a 185.50 buy point. Investors could use 190.80 as an alternate entry. On Thursday, William Blair initiated coverage of GEV stock at outperform.
Palantir stock pared gains but still advanced 2.1% to 31, after finding support at the 21-day line. That offered a swing trade opportunity for PLTR stock.
Shift4 stock gained nearly 3% to 82.36, once again breaking the downtrend of a handle. The cup-with-handle buy point is 83.64. FOUR stock and other payment stocks got a lift from Affirm Holdings, which shot up 32% on earnings.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally had a disappointing fade Thursday. But the Nasdaq barely falling as Nvidia knifes down through the 50-day line isn't that bad.
A number of stocks flashed buy signals Thursday, though several of those pared gains substantially.
If Nvidia can't halt its slide, the market rally might struggle, especially AI and chip names. On the flip side, a decisive NVDA stock rebound could provide a big tailwind for a market that seems eager to push higher.
So make sure your watchlists and exit strategies up to date.
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