The Dow Jones Industrial Average held its 0.5% gain at noon on Wednesday. The blue-chip index rebounded from its 50-day moving average Monday and remained above it at midday Wednesday.
On Thursday, the consumer price index will reveal the key metric to gauge when the Fed may pivot: service inflation. Services have been heating up even as prices of goods have fallen off. Service inflation and the labor market are key indicators for the Fed's action going into 2023.
The S&P 500 added to its early gains and was up 0.7% at midday. The index has been testing its 50-day line for the past few sessions. Should it clear the level in a sustained rally, the next key level is at 4,000, which coincides with the 200-day moving average.
The Nasdaq composite also added to early gains and was up a solid 1% at midday. The Nasdaq is approaching its 50-day line.
Nasdaq component Taiwan Semiconductor is on tap Thursday with its earnings report. TSM is a top holding in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which holds more than $4.1 billion of the stock. TSM slipped slightly at midday.
Volume on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq was much higher compared with noon on Tuesday.
Crude oil rose over 3% to trade at $77.67 a barrel. The next round of sanctions on Russian oil will come into effect on Feb. 5. The December sanctions have resulted in Russian chief export-grade crude oil selling at $37.80 a barrel. By comparison, Brent crude sold at $78.57, according to analysis from Argus Media.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 3.57%.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF outperformed the stock market with a 1% gain.
Some health care stocks are breaking down.
Halozyme Therapeutics plunged more than 10% after the company gave a weak outlook late Tuesday. Shares knifed through their 50-day line in heavy volume, which is a sell signal.
AbbVie is also selling off and breaking below the 50-day moving average. It has fallen about 7% from the 167.87 buy point, although the stock spent only a short while above that entry before fading.
Dow Jones Stocks
Shares of Apple are rising 1.5% after news that the Cupertino, Calif., giant plans on making its screens in-house. So far, it relied on Samsung and LG for its high-end displays.
Dow Jones leader Caterpillar is in a buy zone with a buy point of 238 in a cup base. CAT is also on the IBD Leaderboard. Boeing rose slightly.
Outside the Dow, Delta Air Lines rose over 1% with earnings due on Friday. The stock is building the right side of a cup base with a buy point of 46.37. Strong volume has accompanied the price action this week.
Airline stocks were mainly higher. Late Tuesday, the FAA grounded some domestic flights after the FAA system that sends messages to pilots had an outage.
In health care, UnitedHealth is notching a 1% gain, ahead of earnings on Friday. Medpace on IBD Leaderboard, is on track for a four-day winning streak and is fast approaching a buy point of 235.82.
Stocks Moving Today
Tesla jumped over 3% after CEO Elon Musk unveiled plans to expand the Texas gigafactory with a $1 billion investment.
Warner Bros. Discovery made a small gain after Guggenheim analyst Mike Morris upgraded the media stock to a buy with a price target of 16.50.
Medical technology stock Axonics surged over 11% after preliminary fourth-quarter results showed a 61% increase in revenue. For the year, the Irvine, Calif.-based company expects a 52% revenue increase to $273.6 million.
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