The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued strengthening in early afternoon trading Wednesday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite gained over 1% each. Crude oil plunged to its lowest level in months.
Dow Jones Pares Gains, Reverses Lower
The Dow rose 0.9%, extending afternoon gains, while the S&P 500 traded up 1.1%. Tech stocks were among the best performers, with the Nasdaq up 1.2%. The Russell 2000 advanced 1.1% as small caps also rose.
Volume was lower by double-digit percentages on the Nasdaq and NYSE, compared to the same time on Tuesday.
Crude oil futures traded lower, giving up nearly 5% to around $82.58 per barrel. The G7 nations are discussing capping prices of Russian oil and gas. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off energy supplies if price limits are imposed. Recession fears also weighed on crude prices. On Monday, OPEC+ agreed to cut output by 100,000 barrels per day in October, on worries that energy prices are dropping too quickly.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 31422.64 | +277.34 | +0.89 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 3951.66 | +43.47 | +1.11 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 11689.34 | +144.43 | +1.25 |
| Russell 2000 | 180.23 | +1.92 | +1.08 | |
| IBD 50 | 27.19 | -0.17 | -0.62 | |
Last Update: 1:28 PM ET 9/7/2022 |
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Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield cooled slightly to 3.28% after being pushed up to a multi-month high on Tuesday.
The defensive utilities sector led the upside with strong gains among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, while energy led the downside. The Energy Select Sector SPDR lost another 2% on Wednesday, following last week's 3.5% decline.
Dow Jones Today
Among Dow Jones components, the only two stocks showing losses on Wednesday were oil giant Chevron and Caterpillar. Chevron lost 2.1% as the stock continues to trade sideways and is testing support at its 10-week line. Chevron is forming a cup-with-handle base and is trading 7% below the 166.93 entry.
Caterpillar only lost 0.3% but broke below support at its 10-week line last week.
3M and Walmart led the Dow, up 3.3% and 1.7%, respectively. Walmart found support at its 21-day exponential moving average but still remains below its 200-day line.
Meanwhile, Dow Jones tech giant Apple rose modestly as its "Far Out" product launch event kicked off at around 1 p.m. ET. CEO Tim Cook opened the event Wednesday saying the focus will be on iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watch. So far, Cook has introduced the Apple Watch Series 8.
Apple stock is building a cup-with-handle base with a 176.25 buy point. The handle is a bit deeper than normal, at around 13%. But Apple must first regain its 50-day moving average before a move higher can be expected. Shares sank deeper below that line this week.
Outside Dow Jones
Innovator IBD 50 ETF lagged the stock market with a 0.7% decline.
Several medical stocks in the IBD 50 traded higher and led the growth-focused index. Axonics, medical systems and equipment stock, rose over 5% and traded in the the 20% profit zone from a cup-with-handle breakout in July. Shares held around their 21-day line.
Meanwhile, Shockwave Medical and Repligen rose 4.7% and 3.6%, respectively. Both medical stocks are rebounding from pullbacks, and Repligen is rising from its 50-day average.
Another IBD 50 leader, Waste Connections, traded just pennies below a 144.56 buy point of a cup-with-handle base. Shares rose close to 2% on Wednesday and the stock's relative strength line notched a new high.
