The major stock market indexes held gains into the early afternoon on Friday, and are near the highs of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up over 350 points in afternoon trading.
The Nasdaq rallied 2.1%, leading the indexes. The S&P 500 gained 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.1%. Small caps held up strong, with the Russell 2000 index rising 1.9%.
The S&P 500 index is above the 50-day moving average and 21-day exponential moving average.
The Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust popped 2.1%. NYSE volume was down 9.1% and Nasdaq volume was down 0.8%, compared to the same time Thursday.
Crude oil was up 3.8%, trading at $86.79 per barrel. Natural gas gained, up 0.7%. The SPDR Select Energy ETF added 2%.
Bitcoin futures rose a whopping 11% to $21,395. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note inched up to 3.30%.
Markets project an 88% chance the Fed will raise interest rates by 75 basis points at this month's meeting. Only 12% of market watchers expect a 50-basis-point hike.
The German DAX stock index closed up 1.4%, the London FTSE 100 added 1.2% and the Paris CAC 40 gained 1.4% to close out the day.
Stock Market Rewards Positive Trial News
Regeneron gained another 3.3% after yesterday's near 19% gain on positive trial news. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight, with a much higher price target of 851 from 625.
Lithium And Egg Stocks Break Out
Chilean lithium and fertilizer company Sociedad Quimica y Minera broke out of a cup-with-handle base, hitting the 113.80 buy point. The stock has pulled back from earlier highs, now up 0.3% and is in the 5% buy zone on the MarketSmith chart.
SQM is No. 1 in the Chemicals-Agricultural group, which is ranked No. 81 out of the 197 industries IBD tracks. The company has shown huge triple-digit EPS and sales growth for the last three quarters. Sociedad holds a 99 Composite Rating and a 89 EPS Rating.
Pliant Therapeutics rose 7.5% and broke out of a cup-with-handle base on light volume, hitting the buy point on the chart. The medical company specializes in treatments for fibrosis. The stock soared on July 11 after reporting positive news on its treatment for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in a Phase 2a study.
Egg producer Cal-Maine Foods rallied 1.8% and broke out of a cup-with-handle base hitting the 57.85 buy point, and is in the 5% buy zone. The relative strength line reached a new high, as indicated by the blue dot on the weekly MarketSmith chart.
The company holds an enviable 98 Composite Rating and a 97 Relative Strength Rating.
Stocks Moving On Earnings
DocuSign added 10% after reporting a beat on both EPS and revenue after the market close Thursday.
Zscaler popped 21% after reporting a beat on fiscal Q4 2022 EPS and sales, and gave better-than-expected sales guidance after the market close Thursday.
Grocery store chain Kroger climbed 6.2% after reporting better-than-expected fiscal Q2 earnings per share and sales numbers. The company raised its adjusted EPS and full-year guidance.
Zumiez plunged 15.0% in early trading, but clawed its way back, down 0.1%. The company reported EPS down from prior year and worse-than-expected Q2 EPS. Management also gave Q3 sales guidance below analysts' expectations.
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Stock Market Today: IBD 50 Stocks On The Move
The IBD 50 ETF, a measure of growth stocks, gained 1.7%, in line with the major indexes.
Talos Energy gapped up 3.2% and is back above the 21-day exponential moving average. The company holds a top spot in the U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration group, ranked No. 21 out of the 197 IBD groups. It earned a perfect 99 Composite Rating and has seen positive EPS for the last three quarters.
Oil and gas producer Ovintiv gained 4.3% and is in a cup-with-handle base within 7% of the 56.41 buy point. The stock is No. 1 in the International Oil & Gas Exploration group, which is ranked No. 37 out of the 197 groups IBD tracks.
Solar company Enphase Energy plummeted 4.7% after Guggenheim cut its rating to neutral from buy on the stock. The stock is No. 1 in the Energy-Solar group, with the industry group ranked No. 1 out of the 197 IBD groups.
