The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed virtually flat despite a stock market rally driven by Amazon.com. Ford took a dive while Snap soared on earnings. Pinterest gained but Facebook parent Meta Platforms continued to struggle.
A trio of stocks managed to test buy points amid the bullish action: Weatherford, SM Energy and Coterra Energy.
On the data front, the latest jobs report showed the economy added 467,000 jobs in January. This was much higher than the Econoday consensus of 150,000.
Volatility fell, with the Cboe Volatility Index falling around 4%. Volume was lower on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq compared with Thursday, according to early data.
Meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed about nine basis points to 1.92%. Oil also rose again, with West Texas Intermediate crude up 1.9% to above $92 a barrel.
Nasdaq Big Winner, Growth Stocks Lag
The Nasdaq was the big winner for the day, rising 1.6%. Datadog was one of the star performers outside of Amazon. Datadog gained just shy of 9%.
The S&P 500 also rose thanks to Amazon, gaining 0.5%. NortonLifeLock was noteworthy here, jumping nearly 9%.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 35089.15 | -22.01 | -0.06 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4500.61 | +23.17 | +0.52 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 14098.01 | +219.19 | +1.58 |
| Russell 2000 | 198.40 | +0.87 | +0.44 | |
| IBD 50 | 37.73 | -0.18 | -0.47 | |
Last Update: 4:10 PM ET 2/4/2022 |
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The S&P sectors ended the session mixed. Consumer discretionary, energy and financials fared best. Real estate, consumer staples and materials were the weakest.
Small caps also managed to squeeze out a gain, with the Russell 2000 closing up 0.4%.
Growth stocks lagged. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF, a bellwether for growth stocks, fell 0.5%.
Dow Jones Today: Microsoft Stock Among Winners
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged the other major indexes. It closed the day virtually flat but gave up 22 points.
Microsoft was one of the index's top performers. It closed off highs but gained 1.6%. The Leaderboard and Long-Term Leader stock pulled further away from its 200-day moving average.
But it was Saleforce.com that fared best of all in the Dow Jones today. It closed with a gain of 3%. It remains well below its 50-day and 200-day lines for now.
Amazon Stock Is Prime Mover
Amazon stock surged on a strong earnings beat, pulling the major indexes up with it.
A 97% EPS boost to $27.75 per share topped analyst views. A 9% increase in sales to $137.4 billion was a bit below expectations, though.
Wall Street also cheered the news that Amazon will be hiking the price of its Prime service for the first time in four years. It is raising it from $12.99 to $14.99 a month. It goes into effect for new members on Feb. 18 and for current members after March 25.
Amazon stock was up 13.5%, at 3,160. AMZN broke the record for the largest one-day gain in market value with this move.
It now has the key 50-day moving average in its sights. The stock remains a long way off last year's high of 3,773.08 though. The move came in heavy volume Friday, a bullish sign.
Ford Stock Sinks, Tesla Stock Rallies
Ford closed slightly off lows for the day as it gave up 9.7% after a serving up worse than-than-expected earnings.
Earnings came in at 26 cents per share while Wall Street expected EPS of 45 cents. Revenue of $35.3 billion was also worse than views for $35.52 billion.
Ford stock gapped down, away from its 50-day moving average. The move came in high volume, another bad sign for stockholders. The automaker was a big winner in 2021 amid enthusiasm for its switch to EVs.
Leaderboard stock Tesla fared better, rising 3.6%. It has been rebounding above its 200-day moving average.
Snap Stock Explodes; Social Media Plays Gain
Snapchat parent Snap staged an extremely bullish rebound as it soared more than 60% at one point, close to 40. It finished the day up 59%.
Despite this, it remains well off prior highs above the 80 level and is rooted below its 50-day moving average.
It rocketed Friday after decisively beating Q4 views and giving guidance above expectations. It posted its first-ever profitable quarter with EPS of 22 cents a share. Revenue jumped 42% to $1.3 billion.
Bank of America upgraded the stock and said there are "multiple product catalysts that could drive (average revenue per user) expansion."
Other social media stocks also generally rose. Pinterest popped 10% on earnings and Twitter gained nearly 8%. Facebook parent Meta Platforms continued to struggle, trading virtually flat.
These Energy Stocks Test Entries
A trio of energy stocks were testing buy points amid the positive action.
Oil equipment stock Weatherford is trading below its buy point after passing a cup-with-handle entry of 33.65. The RS line hit a new high. The stock boasts extremely strong stock market performance, but the company is not profitable.
SM Energy also fell below its entry after trying to break out of a cup-with-handle base. The ideal entry point here is 38.05.
Coterra Energy also tested an entry by breaking above a consolidation pattern buy point of 23.74. This stock offers excellent earnings and price performance.
Please follow Michael Larkin on Twitter at @IBD_MLarkin for more on growth stocks and analysis.
