The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved higher despite mixed broader trading. Twitter saw accrued gains evaporate amid rising fears over the takeover bid tabled by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The Donald Trump SPAC Digital World Acquisition surged.
Meanwhile, a trio of energy stocks made bullish moves as oil spiked. Chevron, Noble and TotalEnergies are worth watching.
Volume was down on both the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, according to early data.
Meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped 5 basis points to 2.88%. Oil surged again, with West Texas Intermediate crude rising 3.4% to over $114 per barrel. This helped drive energy stocks higher once again.
Nasdaq Falls As Growth Stocks Shine
The Nasdaq ended the day down 1.2%. Datadog fared worst as cloud stocks were punished, dipping 10.7%.
The S&P 500 also struggled, falling 0.4%. Leaderboard and Warren Buffett stock Occidental Petroleum fared best with a 5.7% gain.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 32224.01 | +27.35 | +0.08 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4008.36 | -15.53 | -0.39 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 11662.79 | -142.21 | -1.20 |
| Russell 2000 | 177.27 | -0.80 | -0.45 | |
| IBD 50 | 30.65 | +0.23 | +0.76 | |
Last Update: 4:12 PM ET 5/16/2022 |
||||
The S&P sectors closed mixed. Energy and health made the strongest gains. Consumer discretionary and technology fared worst.
Small caps were mauled by the bears, with the Russell 2000 falling 0.7%.
Growth stocks were a bright spot though. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF, a bellwether for growth stocks, closed with a gain of 0.8%.
Dow Jones Today: Apple Stock Among Laggards
The Dow Jones managed to close the day with a slender gain of 0.1%.
Outside of Chevron, Merck fared best with a gain of 2.1%, with Verizon Communications also one of the better performers.
Apple stock was among the index laggards as it gave up 1.1%. The relative strength line continues to struggle, MarketSmith analysis shows.
But Boeing and Walt Disney fared worst with dips of 2.5% and 2%, respectively.
Twitter Elon Musk Gains Vanish, Donald Trump SPAC Surges
Twitter ended the day back below the level it sat at when Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed he was making a move to buy the business.
It closed the day down 8.1%. It has now fallen back below its April 1 closing price of 39.31, just before the Musk bid became public knowledge.
TWTR stock is also far below the 54.20 price offered by Musk to take the firm private.
The stock has been hit by rising fears Musk may ultimately choose to scotch the deal.
Last week the eccentric executive tweeted the deal is "temporarily on hold" over concerns spam and fake accounts represent more than 5% of users. At a Miami conference on Monday, Musk said they likely account for at least 20% of all Twitter accounts. But he also said a deal is "not out of the question" at a lower price.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said Musk is signaling he is getting cold feet on the deal.
"Our view is that the Street is assigning the chance of Musk walking as more than 50%, which speaks to the pressure on Twitter shares. Coupled by the fact that if he stays and does a deal, $54.20 is out the window. With this circus show now hard to predict, the next move is from Twitter's Board," Ives said in a note to clients.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal defended the firm's estimates. He Tweeted that "internal estimates for the last four quarters were all well under 5%."
EV stock Tesla also ended the day 5.9% lower, giving up gains it posted Friday. It remains stalled below its major moving averages. TSLA stock has been hit hard since news emerged that Musk is trying to snap up Twitter.
Donald Trump SPAC Digital World Acquisition, which is set to host the former president's rival social media network Truth Social, surged 9%. It still remains rooted below the key 10-week moving average.
Outside Dow Jones: Energy Stocks Offer Opportunities
A trio of energy plays worth considering made bullish moves Monday.
Chevron was a top performer today, crossing a trendline as it closed up more than 3%. The stock has now completed a five-session win streak.
It also briefly passed the 174.86 buy point of a flat base, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. It ended the day just below this level.
Shares bullishly regained their 50-day line last week. Stock market performance is top notch, while earnings are seen growing 92% in 2022 by Wall Street.
Oil driller Noble forced its way past a trendline entry near 35.19. It is also closing in on a consolidation buy point of 36.89.
The IPO stock has just seen its relative strength line hit a new high, a bullish sign. Its latest base is second stage. Such early stage patterns have a better chance of success
The firm is expected to post its first annual profit since 2015 this year. Its bullish behavior saw the stock added to the prestigious IBD Leaderboard list of leading stocks on Monday.
Finally, new IBD 50 member TotalEnergies has formed a new cup base. The ideal buy point here is 60.13 buy point.
This French oil and gas firm has seen its relative strength line move near new highs, a positive sign. Shares closed the day above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
All-around performance is strong here, netting it an IBD Composite Rating of 98. TotalEnergies beat analysts' estimates on both the top and bottom lines when it reported earnings on April 28.
Please follow Michael Larkin on Twitter at @IBD_MLarkin for more on growth stocks and analysis.
