The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes rallied Monday as bitcoin miner Riot Platforms spiked on a bullish Wall Street call. Tesla fell amid talk from Elon Musk about price cuts, but fellow Magnificent Seven stocks Nvidia and Amazon.com gained ground. And Trump Media & Technology fell on the stock market today with the former president's hush money trial getting underway.
Meanwhile, a trio of stocks held steady near buy points despite recent negative pressure: Heico, Cactus and Republic Services.
Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Retakes Key Level
Stocks fought back Monday after some geopolitical fears eased over the weekend. The House of Representatives passed foreign aid packages for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine. The Senate is expected to approve the moves this week.
The Nasdaq composite led major indexes with a 1.1% jump. PDD was among the shining stars as it soared 9.4%. Lululemon Athletica was also strong with a gain of 2.6%.
The benchmark S&P 500 snapped a six-day decline. It managed to retake the 5,000 level, a key demarcation between the bears and bulls, as it climbed 0.9%. Auto giant Ford Motor outperformed as it rose 6.1% and moved back above its 50-day moving average, MarketSurge analysis shows.
The S&P 500 sectors all closed in positive territory. Technology and financial services rose the most. Health care and materials made the slimmest gains on the stock market today.
Gains among small-cap stocks gave the bears a bloody nose, with the Russell 2000 surging 1%. Growth stocks did even better, with the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund popping 1.5%.
Dow Jones Today: Salesforce Deal Misfires, Verizon Reverses
The Dow Jones also rallied, though gains faded into the close. The blue chip index rallied 253 points to finish 0.7% higher.
Goldman Sachs fared best on the much-watched index as it rose 3.3%. JPMorgan Chase also shined, gaining 1.9%.
Salesforce came off its highs for the day, but still rose 1.3%. It was in the green after The Wall Street Journal reported Salesforce backed away from a move to acquire software provider Informatica. Informatica flashed a sell signal as it dropped below its 50-day moving average amid a plunge of 10.5%. Volume was high in the move.
Verizon Communications lagged most on the Dow Jones today. It fell 4.7% despite an earnings beat after revenue came in slightly below expectations.
Donald Trump Stock Falls Amid Trial
Life isn't easy for investors in Trump Media & Technology. Shares of the Truth Social-parent fell again Monday after the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump began in New York.
In opening arguments, prosecutors claimed an alleged $130,000 payment from Trump to porn star Stormy Daniels was "pure election fraud."
But Trump's defense team painted a very different picture, going so far as to say he is "cloaked in innocence." They also raised questions about the credibility of Michael Cohen, a key witness who made the payment while serving as the former president's attorney.
This is a historic legal event as it is the first time that a current or former U.S. president has faced a criminal trial.
Trump Media fell 2.4% Monday. It currently sits well below its key 50-day moving average despite shaking off some recent losses, MarketSurge analysis shows. It bounced after finding support at the 200-day line. It met resistance at the 21-day exponential moving average.
Nevertheless, those who bought the Donald Trump stock at recent highs are nursing painful losses. Trump Media stock is now down more than 55% from the stock's 2024 high, which it touched on March 26.
People who hung on after purchasing Trump Media at its all-time high of 175 — reached in October 2021 when it was still Digital World Acquisition — have lost nearly 80% of their money.
Elon Musk Defends Tesla Price Cuts
Tesla stock took yet another tumble on the stock market today after the company cut electric vehicle prices in the U.S., China and Europe, as well as slashing the price for its Full Self-Driving feature.
However, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk took to his social media platform, X, to explain that prices "must change frequently in order to match production with demand."
"Other cars change prices constantly and often by wide margins via dealer markups and manufacturer/dealer incentives," Musk said. "Only a fool thinks the 'MSRP' (manufacturer's suggested retail price) is the real price."
The stock ended the session down 3.4% and dropped further below its 50-day moving average, according to MarketSurge analysis.
Tesla's relative strength line undercut its January 2023 low and sits at its lowest level since May 2020. Tesla stock is down nearly 43% since the start of the year. The Magnificent Seven component is due to report earnings Tuesday.
Magnificent Seven: Nvidia Stock Pops
Other stocks in the Magnificent Seven ended in positive territory as they look to recover from last week's painful drawdown.
Nvidia fared the best as it bounced 4.4%. Nevertheless, the artificial intelligence play remains stuck below its 50-day line.
Amazon stock was the next best performer as it rose 1.5%. Google-parent Alphabet followed closely as it gained 1.4%.
Apple rose 0.5%. Microsoft and Meta Platforms, which report earnings later this week, added 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.
Stock Market Today: Bitcoin Miner Riot Pops On Call
Riot Platforms soared 23.1% on the stock market today after it was the subject of a bullish Wall Street call. The bitcoin miner got a boost after JPMorgan Chase reiterated its overweight rating following Riot's recent analyst day.
Riot stock surged despite the bitcoin cryptocurrency recently undergoing its fourth-ever halving event. This caused the reward for mining bitcoin to fall to a block reward of 3.125 bitcoins.
Despite shares rising sharply, Riot stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Bitcoin climbed 2.9%, according to CoinDesk. It is trading for more than $66,500 per token.
Among other bitcoin-related stocks, Coinbase Global surged 7% and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF rose 3.4%. Cryptocurrency miner Marathon Digital reversed higher as it gained 6.4%.
Stock Market Today: Issues Near Entries
While the stock market today is in the grip of some turmoil, investors can look for stocks near buy points for their watchlists.
Aerospace play Heico is showing relative strength as it holds close to a flat-base buy point of 200.64. This is a first-stage base, which improves the odds of netting big gains.
The stock's Earnings Per Share Rating comes in at 83 and it boasts strong institutional support. In total, 63% of its stock is currently held by funds, according to MarketSurge data.
Energy play Cactus has formed a first-stage cup-with-handle base. The ideal buy point here is 53.09. Overall good performance is reflected in an IBD Composite Rating of 94.
Cactus designs, manufactures and sells oil wellheads and pressure control equipment. Its products are sold and rented principally for onshore shale and other unconventional oil and gas wells.
Two Stocks To Watch: Republic Services, Church & Dwight
Waste collection company Republic Services is nearing a flat base entry of 192.57 on the stock market today. This is a mid-stage pattern and the relative strength line has just reached a fresh high.
The stock has a best-possible Composite Rating and its B+ Accumulation/Distribution reflects institutional buying of late. Its latest earnings report is due late on April 30, and could act as a catalyst.
Finally, Church & Dwight climbed above the 105.67 buy point of a flat base. But volume was not impressive and market risk is high for any stock purchases.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
