The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher Thursday afternoon and reversed some of Monday's losses. So far this week, the indexes have shown some back-and-forth action, but the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 are ultimately on track to close higher for the week. The Dow Jones, however, is down slightly for the week.
Market conditions continued to improve as stocks moved higher. The new market uptrend remains intact, and it's still a good time to buy stocks and increase exposure. After Thursday's gains, the indexes are still either above key moving averages or are testing these areas after regaining them earlier this week. The S&P 500 is above all the major moving averages, while the Nasdaq and Dow Jones still need to reclaim support at their 200-day lines.
All the S&P 500 sectors traded higher, although energy and real estate stocks lagged. Meanwhile, the Technology Select Sector exchange traded fund rose more than 2% and led the upside among sectors. Health care and materials stocks also led in the S&P 500.
After the Federal Reserve announced last week the first in an expected series of interest-rate hikes, Treasury yields moved initially higher this week. But the benchmark yield pulled back later in the week as the 10-year U.S. Treasury note's yield fell to 2.32% on Wednesday and held this level on Thursday.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 34707.15 | +348.65 | +1.01 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4520.19 | +63.95 | +1.44 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 14191.84 | +269.24 | +1.93 |
| Russell 2000 | 205.90 | +2.00 | +0.98 | |
| IBD 50 | 39.69 | +0.77 | +1.98 | |
Last Update: 4:20 PM ET 3/24/2022 |
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Energy stocks paused after several days of moving higher. U.S. crude futures fell more than 3% to around $111 per barrel. Last week, oil fell to $95 but rebounded from that level.
Dow Jones In The Stock Market Today
At the close, the Dow Jones industrials held a gain of 1% as the Nasdaq rose 1.9%. The S&P 500 advanced 1.4% as the Russell 2000 traded 2% higher, outperforming the other indexes. Early data showed volume was running lower on the Nasdaq and on the NYSE vs. the close on Wednesday.
Among Dow Jones stocks making notable moves, Intel surged 7%. Chip stocks were certainly a leading group in today's market as Nvidia rose over 9% in heavy volume. Other major chipmakers also gained, including Advanced Micro Devices, up almost 5% on Thursday, and Qualcomm which rose 3%. But all the aforementioned chip leaders are down on a year-to-date basis.
Elsewhere in the Dow Jones, Apple led the upside with a 2.2% gain and closed higher for its eighth straight day as it forms a double-bottom base. In a note to clients late Tuesday, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said Apple is seeing "stellar" iPhone 13 demand globally and an "elongated product cycle." The momentum will provide a good setup for the launch of the iPhone 14, he said.
Shares reclaimed the 50-day line on Tuesday and are just 2% away from the new 176.75 entry.
Breakouts And Stocks Nearing Buy Points
MarketSmith Growth 250 stock and metal ores miner BHP Group broke out above a 73.68 cup-with-handle entry. The base has formed over the last 45 weeks and has been building for a while. After a rise of over 1.8% Thursday afternoon, shares remained inside the 5% buy zone and are still actionable. The stock's RS line also reached a new high. BHP Group got some air play in Thursday's IBD Live show.
Additionally, oil and gas refinery company Marathon Petroleum briefly rose above an 81.49 buy point of a flat base, before closing slightly below this area. Shares were up 1.1% and are well supported above their 50-day and 21-day lines.
Volume was light on both breakouts, which isn't ideal. But both stocks remain in strong industry groups. BHP's metal ores mining group ranks No. 7 out of the 197 IBD-measured groups, while Marathon's oil and gas refinery group ranks No. 17.
Follow Rachel Fox on Twitter at @IBD_RFox for more Dow Jones and stock market commentary.
