The major stock market indexes relinquished morning gains in afternoon trading on Friday, dropping to lows for the day. Market players hit the exits on news that Russia will suspend natural gas pipeline shipments to Germany.
The Nasdaq changed course, now down 0.5%. The S&P 500 has shed 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 0.2%. The Russell 2000 small-cap ETF is trading lower by 0.2%.
The S&P 500 and small-cap Russell 2000 bumped up against their 50-day moving average resistance lines. The big-tech Nasdaq 100-tracking ETF Invesco QQQ Trust paced the downside, notching a 0.6% loss.
NYSE and Nasdaq volume fell double-digit percentages compared to the same time on Thursday, as investors prepare for an extended holiday weekend.
Crude oil has bounced less than 1% and is now trading just under $87 per barrel. Natural gas has sold off 4.8% despite the pipeline news, holding under the psychological $9 level. The SPDR Select Energy ETF surged 1.4%.
Bitcoin futures are rising, adding 1.1% to $19,910.
The German DAX stock index gained 3.3%, the FTSE 100 1.9% and the CAC 40 2.2% in late European action.
Yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note slumped to 3.2%.
Markets now project a 58% chance the Fed will raise interest rates by 75 basis points in September. 42% are expecting a 50-basis-point boost.
More Folks Enter Workforce
U.S. labor market participation showed strength at 62.4%, up from 62.1%.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% month over month, missing expectations for a 0.4% increase. The 5.2% hourly earnings year-over-year change also undercut 5.3% consensus.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, above 3.5% expectations, as more workers looked for jobs.
The addition of 315,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August beat the 293,000 consensus, though booking fewer jobs than July's 528,000.
308,000 private payroll jobs added blew away 280,000 expectations while manufacturing payrolls saw strength at 22,000 added vs. 19,000 expected.
Stock Market: Medical Play Breaks Out, Hits Buy Point
Medical diagnostics company Meridian Bioscience broke out of a cup-with-handle base, hitting the 33.27 buy point on the MarketSmith chart. The stock has pulled back 0.9% after morning gains.
Meridian boast a 97 Relative Strength Rating, telling investors it has performed better in the last 12 months than 97% of the stocks that IBD tracks. Shares are also trading above the 21-day exponential moving average.
Clean energy company AES Corporation broke out of a cup-with-handle base, hitting the 26.46 buy point, and is trading within the 5% buy zone. Shares are up 0.9%, hitting a 52-week high.
The relative strength line also hit a new high, as indicated by the blue dot on the chart.
Winners And Losers
Lululemon Athletica soared 6.8% after beating Q2 top and bottom line estimates after Thursday's close. Management also offered better-than-expected Q3 and full-year 2022 sales guidance.
Broadcom is trading higher by 1.8% on an EPS and sales beat.
Offshore drilling company Valaris Limited rose 7.1% as the energy sector gains strength on higher oil prices, ahead of the upcoming OPEC+ meeting.
Stock Market Today: IBD 50 Stocks On The Move
The IBD 50 ETF, a measure of growth stocks, gained 0.8%, holding up better than the major indexes.
Talos Energy, an oil and gas company, is 5.9% higher as the energy sector leads the day. The company reported impressive quarterly growth on Aug. 4, with earnings showing acceleration. EPS rose from $0.45 per share in the December quarter to $0.77 in March, and $1.20 in June.
Talos holds a superior 98 Composite Rating, of 99, and a 96 Relative Strength Rating.
CVR Energy gained 5.6% on light volume. The stock is in a cup-with-handle base with a 37.73 buy point. It has a perfect 99 Relative Strength Rating and a 94 Composite Rating.
Daqo New Energy pulled back 4.1% on light volume, testing the 50-day moving average. Daqo is an industry leader with a 99 Composite Rating and EPS rating.
