The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged other key stock market indexes Wednesday, but the blue chip metric closed more than 200 points higher, underscoring growing breadth in the current market advance. Meanwhile, Warren Buffett-owned StoneCo stayed quiet after rallying the prior six sessions.
Quiet action could be a good thing for StoneCo, a Brazil-based fintech firm. Part of IBD's credit card and payment processing industry group, StoneCo has now formed the right side of a cup base.
Watch to see if the midcap growth stock can now possibly fashion a handle on the cup pattern. STNE stock on Monday edged up 4 pennies, or 0.3%, to 13.91. (Find more coverage on StoneCo and other Warren Buffett plays near a buy point here.)
IBD noted the start of a potential tradable rally commencing on Nov. 1, when the Nasdaq ran ahead 1.6% in higher turnover vs. the prior session. That follow-through day arrived on the fourth day of a new rally attempt. It also occurred after the Federal Reserve decided to keep short-term interest rates unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq led the way on Monday, up more than 1.1% on the stock market today. The composite index already has jumped three weeks in a row, rallying 11.7% in the process.
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The S&P 500 gained 0.7% on Monday and also is gunning for its fourth straight up week.
The last time the S&P 500 had such a win streak? A five-week run-up that began with the week that ended on May 19. The large-cap benchmark rallied 6.9% during those five weeks. It then pulled back the week ended June 23 with a 1.4% decline.
Top industry groups on the day included solar energy, computer hardware and peripherals, database software and retail home furnishings. These industry groups and a few others jumped 2% or more on a price-weighted basis.
See the entire performance of all 197 industry groups tracked by Investor's Business Daily and Investors.com at IBD Data Tables.
LEI Data On Economy Does Not Stop Dow Jones
Investors appear to be shrugging off, for now, a sharper-than-expected decline in the last monthly leading economic indicators index, or LEI. The LEI fell 0.8% in October, larger than the consensus forecast from economists polled by Econoday for a 0.6% dip. The latest drop was bigger than a September decline of 0.7%.
Volume was running higher on the Nasdaq vs. the same time on Friday and lighter on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock market will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, then open at the regular 9:30 a.m. ET time on Friday but end early at 1 p.m.
Elsewhere, long-dated U.S. Treasury bonds fell amid a heavy day of government debt auctions that included a 20-year bond sale. The key 10-year note's yield edged down nearly 2 basis points to 4.42%.
Gold edged just 0.2% lower to $1,980 an ounce as the U.S. dollar eased vs. major currencies, while silver futures fell 1.2%. But crude oil futures rallied nearly 2.9% before settling for a 2% lift.
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Dow Jones Leaders
Inside the Dow Jones industrials, four of the 30 components gained 2 points or more, including Boeing. The aerospace giant got an analyst upgrade from Deutsche Bank. BA stock rose more than 4% and created further bullish airspace above its 200-day line.
However, BA stock is still lagging key indexes year to date, up 14% since Jan. 1. Wall Street thinks the company will return to the black in 2024, earning $4.38 a share. Boeing lost $11.06 a share in 2022 and is seen cutting its net loss this year to $6.10. Sales have risen on average 23.5% vs. year-ago levels in the past four quarters.
Salesforce, also in the Dow Jones, outperformed the general market. Shares rose 3.85 points, or 1.7%.
CRM has snagged a spot on the IBD Leaderboard watch list. It recently crossed a trendline buy point near 215 and is in buy range from this aggressive entry. In general, it's best to buy no more than 5% above any proper buy point, including a trendline entry.
The Dow Jones tech stock also got featured in this IBD weekly feature on stocks near a buy zone. Watch for October-quarter results from the pioneer in cloud-based customer relationship management and enterprise software on Nov. 30.
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Airlines Lag
Meanwhile, outside the Dow Jones, airlines have struggled to join the stock market leadership, despite strong signs the travel economy is still going strong.
American Airlines, however, has retaken its 50-day moving average. Up 0.9% to 12.40 in dull turnover, AAL is still well below the falling 200-day line. So, no proper buy point is apparent for now. AAL still trades 35% below the left-side high of a potential cup pattern.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing 26,000 flight staff at American Airlines, has officially submitted a request for release from federal mediation. APFA President Julie Hedrick said in a news release that the union is "ready to strike to get the contract we deserve and have earned."
AAL has a weak Relative Strength Rating of 21 on a scale of 1 to 99. In general, focus on high-quality growth stocks that show an RS score of 85 or higher.
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