Stock indexes ticked higher Monday as Donald Trump's media company rallied on a Supreme Court ruling. Helping the rally was Nvidia, which battled back while fellow Magnificent Seven name Tesla surged on AI news. And Chewy tumbled on the stock market today after meme trader Roaring Kitty acquired a big stake in the pet food maker.
Indexes closed mostly higher as the second half of 2024 got underway. The Dow Jones index closed the session up nearly 51 points, or 0.1%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite reversed higher as it gained 0.8%. MongoDB fared well here as it rose 5.4%. The database software maker remains marooned below its 200-day and 50-day moving averages, however.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% as Constellation Energy helped charge the index with a gain of 2.4%. But cruise stocks took on water, with Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line sinking more than 5% each. They fell as Category 4 storm Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Grenada, a popular Caribbean cruise destination.
A slight majority of the S&P 500 sectors ended the session lower. Technology, which lagged early, and consumer discretionary were the strongest sectors while materials and industrials were the worst performers on the stock market today.
Small caps were struggling, with the Russell 2000 falling 0.9%. The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund squeezed out a slender gain after rallying out of negative territory.
Treasury yields played a role in small caps having a tough session. The 10-year Treasury note spiked 14 basis points to 4.47% while the two-year rose 5 basis points to 4.77%.
Magnificent 7: Nvidia Battles Back; Elon Musk Makes AI Boast
The so-called Magnificent Seven were mostly higher Monday. Nvidia stock reversed higher, gaining 0.6% and rallying out of the red amid a price-target hike at Morgan Stanley. Analyst Joseph Moore retained an overweight rating and hiked his target to 144 from 116.
It was outperformed today by Tesla stock, which popped more than 6%. It retook its 200-day moving average for the first time since Jan. 10.
Tesla surged after Wells Fargo added the stock to its "tactical ideas" list while maintaining an underweight rating for the stock. Wells Fargo sees "declining delivery growth driven by lower demand & diminished return on price cuts."
The rise also came after Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk spoke out on his social media platform X to boast of the potential of forthcoming artificial intelligence models. He made the statement as he apologized for the "delay" in the release of the firm's latest Full Self-Driving Capability Supervised version, which has started to roll out to employees. Musk partially blamed "too much training on interventions and not enough on normal driving" for the slower rollout.
"Our next-gen AI model after this has a lot of promise: ~5X increase in parameter count, which is very difficult to achieve without upgrading the vehicle inference computer," he said. Musk said separately that "higher parameter count" shows how well the AI model understands nuances of reality.
Meanwhile, Tesla stock investors should also be looking to the release of the firm's second-quarter global vehicle deliveries number. The data is due Tuesday
Apple rose nearly 3% despite UBS reiterating a neutral rating on the stock, citing declining iPhone market share in China. The stock is extended past the 5% buy range from a cup-base ideal buy point of 199.62.
Among other Magnificent Seven players, Amazon.com rose 2% and Microsoft rallied 2.2%. Google parent Alphabet finished the day up 0.5% while Meta Platforms edged up on the stock market today.
Updated 12:22 p.m. ET
Donald Trump Stock Gains After Supreme Court Ruling
Trump Media & Technology stock rallied after the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts taken in office. However, they also ruled presidents have no immunity for unofficial acts.
The ruling means it is unlikely the federal election interference case against Donald Trump will be heard before the November election, where he looks set to square off against President Joe Biden.
The high court ruled 6-3, with the split coming along ideological lines. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that a president "may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts."
In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the decision "makes a mockery of the principle" that "no man is above the law."
Trump himself touted the decision as a "big win for our Constitution" on his social media platform, Truth Social, which is owned by Trump Media & Technology.
The result sends the federal election interference case back to Judge Tanya Chutkan, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She will have to decide the timing of the trial and which, if any, charges should be tossed out.
Trump Media stock was up nearly 3% on the stock market today. It is getting support at the 200-day moving average but remains below the 50-day line. It is down just shy of 58% from its March high of 79.38.
Updated 12:01 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: These Stocks Test Entries
A number of stocks tested entries on the stock market today, though breakout attempts were floundering.
Energy transportation play Kinetik tested a flat-base entry of 41.77, according to MarketSurge analysis.
This is a first-stage base, which means it has a better chance of netting good gains. Overall performance is solid, with its IBD Composite Rating coming in at 92 out of 99. The company, which operates in the Permian Basin, has segments including midstream logistics and pipelines.
Fellow energy stock MPLX reversed lower after testing a flat-base buy point of 42.90.
The stock is a strong all-around performer, with good earnings performance. This is reflected in its EPS Rating of 93 out of 99. But funds own only 28% of MPLX stock, which is not ideal.
S&P 500 component Waste Management also saw early gains fade after initially moving above a 214.58 entry. It earlier rallied after hitting consolidation lows. The relative strength line is also gaining traction following a dip.
Roaring Kitty Pounces, Chewy Falls 34%
Chewy stock initially jumped before being mauled by the hungry stock market bears. The pet goods play initially popped amid news that meme stock trader Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty in social media, has snared a big stake in the retailer.
However it seems the bulls were not keen to protect the stock, as its initial gains faded. It was down nearly 6% and has undercut the 10-day moving average. It is down more than 34% from last week's high of 39.10.
Gill owned 9,001,000 shares of the stock, an SEC filing dated June 24 showed. This represents a 6.6% stake in the company. The holdings are worth $245.18 million based on Friday's closing price of 27.24. The stock reversed lower 6% at midday.
The investor previously gave followers a hint about his latest move by posting a photo on X of a cartoon dog on June 27.
Among meme stocks, GameStop fell nearly 7% while AMC Entertainment was flat.
Updated 10:37 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Boeing Makes Spirit AeroSystems Deal
The big news among Dow Jones stocks was aerospace giant Boeing has finally struck a deal for Spirit AeroSystems.
Boeing agreed to buy supplier Spirit in a $4.7 billion all-stock deal as it looks to tighten controls over its supply chain amid recent safety lapses.
It comes amid reports the Justice Department has told Boeing it will be charged with fraud. It is accused of violating a 2021 settlement reached after the fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018-2019
Under a floated plea deal, Boeing would get a fine as well as an independent monitor for Boeing's safety and compliance practices. The Virginia-based firm has until the end of the week to respond.
Boeing stock rose more than 2% on the stock market today while Spirit AeroSystems stock rallied more than 3%.
Meanwhile, Merck was faring best on the Dow Jones today as it rose nearly 4% while Caterpillar lagged as it fell more than 2%.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
