The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied late as the broader stock market battled back. Apple charged higher on strong results but Visa was the top blue chip. Robinhood managed to surge higher despite poor results and guidance.
A couple of stocks tried to break out amid the positive action. Danaos and Global Ship Lease both probed buy points.
Stocks were gaining despite the Fed's preferred inflation gauge only coming in line with economist forecasts. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index showed prices rose 5.8% in December. The core PCE price index was up 4.9%, slightly above 4.8% consensus.
Nasdaq Gains As Growth Stocks Rally
The tech-heavy Nasdaq made the best progress, surging late to close up 3.1%. Atlassian starred here, jumping almost 10%.
The S&P 500 also rallied out of the red, turning in a gain of 2.4%. Mastercard was among the best performers here, rising 9.1%.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 34726.20 | +565.42 | +1.66 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4432.00 | +105.49 | +2.44 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 13770.57 | +417.79 | +3.13 |
| Russell 2000 | 195.18 | +3.66 | +1.91 | |
| IBD 50 | 37.22 | +0.60 | +1.64 | |
Last Update: 4:06 PM ET 1/28/2022 |
||||
The S&P sectors nearly all finished the day positive. Technology and real estate made the best gains. Energy was the only area to finish lower.
Small caps finished strongly, with the Russell 2000 posting a gain of 1.9%.
Growth stocks managed to fight off the bears after initially struggling for momentum. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF, a bellwether for growth stocks, rose 1.6%.
Dow Jones Up As Apple Stock Stuns
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the weakest of the major indexes but still squeezed out a gain of 1.7%. This represented a gain of 565 points as the bulls managed to overpower the bears.
Apple was one of the top performers here, rising 7% after spanking analyst estimates.
It was the firm's best ever quarter for revenue, with all categories excluding iPads coming in above views.
Apple did not give guidance for the current quarter. The firm has not given specific quarterly guidance since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Apple stock remains nearly 9% shy of its all-time high 182.94, which it reached Jan. 4. It has been forced back due to the stock market correction.
But it was Visa that was leading the index after it popped on an earnings beat. It ended the day up 10.6%.
The credit card giant also topped revenue estimates after revenue topped the $7 billion level for the first time.
Caterpillar was the worst laggard. But even this stock ended the day off lows as it fell 5.2%.
CAT stock was punished despite an earnings beat due to shrinking margins.
Tech Stocks Gain
The technology sector was performing well, with both Visa and Apple among the best performers here.
Other strong gainers included Juniper Networks, which rose 6.9%, Fidelity National Information Services, which gained 7.4%, and ServiceNow, which rose 6.1%.
Among the FANG stocks, Meta Platforms ended the session up 2.4%, Amazon rose 3.1%, Netflix fell 0.6% and Google parent Alphabet finished up 3.4%.
Leaderboard stock Microsoft also moved higher. It flexed its muscles late to close up 2.8%. MSFT had been forming a flat base but the size of its recent decline means this pattern is no longer valid.
Microsoft stock previously moved back above its 200-day moving average after a bullish earnings report.
Robinhood Stock Surges Despite Not-So-Merry Earnings
Robinhood stock managed to reverse from a new all-time low to end the session 9.7% higher, at 12.73.
The stock remains miles below its 50-day moving average, which currently sits half a dollar below the 20 level.
Hood stock rebounded from the red despite posting dismal Q4 results late Thursday.
Robinhood lost 49 cents per share on sales of $362.7 million. It also issued first-quarter sales guidance that came in well below Wall Street expectations.
One positive is the fact the company said it is investing heavily in product development.
These Stocks Test Buy Points
Shipping stock Danaos managed to move past a cup-base buy point of 89.51 and closed the day in its buy zone. Volume popped more than 200% above average, an encouraging sign.
The fact the RS line is sitting at new highs is another bullish indicator.
Shipping stocks are in favor at the moment due to the supply chain crisis. Earnings have lagged the stock market's performance but analysts see strong growth ahead.
Global Ship Lease saw its relative strength line hit a new high as it traded above a cup-with-handle buy point of 25.59 on a weekly chart.
EPS is also lagging here, but big money has been buying up the stock of late.
But remember, with the stock market still in the grip of a correction buying any new stocks is extra risky at the moment.
Please follow Michael Larkin on Twitter at @IBD_MLarkin for more on growth stocks and analysis.
