The stock market was narrowly mixed after a muted opening as investors digested corporate earnings, which remained strong amid weakening economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% in midday trading while the S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% and the Russell 2000 lost 0.3%. The Nasdaq led with a 0.3% gain. Crude oil continued to trend lower, trading below $90 a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped 7 basis points to 2.69%.
Volume on the Nasdaq was lower compared with the same time on Wednesday while NYSE volume was higher.
Initial jobless claims rose to 260,ooo, up 6,000 from last Thursday. The increase was in line with analysts' expectations. Tomorrow's nonfarm payroll report will be closely watched with the broad expectation of 250,000 job additions in July compared with 372,000 in June.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF was nearly flat.
Strong Sales from e-Commerce, Energy, Health Care
E-commerce giant Alibaba beat estimates as the company recovered from China's lockdowns. Earnings of $1.75 on $30.7 billion in revenue came in above expectations. According to CEO Daniel Chang, June saw recovery in all of the company's segments. The ADR surged early but trimmed gains to 1.6% at midday.
Earlier, the company announced plans to follow new SEC regulations after it was added to the list of Chinese stocks at risk of being delisted.
Walmart announced that it will cut 200 corporate jobs after June's inflation hurt sales across several of its profitable segments. The stock fell 2.2%.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 32741.01 | -71.49 | -0.22 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4153.49 | -1.68 | -0.04 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 12695.36 | +27.20 | +0.21 |
| Russell 2000 | 189.23 | -0.52 | -0.27 | |
| IBD 50 | 28.83 | +0.00 | +0.00 | |
Last Update: 12:16 PM ET 8/4/2022 |
||||
In the energy sector, Cheniere Energy beat revenue estimates though it fell short on earnings. LNG's sales of $8 billion topped estimates of $6.4 billion while earnings per share of $2.90 were lower than estimates of $3.49. Cheniere is an IBD Leaderboard stock.
LNG has risen modestly, and is on track to end a three-day losing streak. It is trading near the 146.45 entry of a double bottom.
New Fortress Energy also missed profit estimates but beat revenue expectations. Shares rose 1.4% and are nearing a cup-base buy point of 52.47.
In health care, Lantheus Holdings followed yesterday's positive earnings from Moderna and CVS Health. Lantheus earnings of 89 cents a share and revenue of $223.7 million are well above last year's second-quarter numbers of 11 cents a share on revenue of $101 million.
The Massachusetts-based company, which was an IBD Stock Of The Day in June, is also an IBD Leaderboard stock. Shares of Lantheus are down 1.7% in volatile trading and are testing their 50-day moving average.
Elsewhere in health care, Eli Lilly missed estimates today due to the reduced price of insulin and lower sales of its Covid vaccine. Earnings of $1.25 per share on revenue of $6.49 billion were lower than estimates of $1.70 EPS and revenue of $6.85 billion.
The company lowered its full-year outlook to $7.90-$8.05 per share and revenue to $28.8 billion-$29.3 billion. Lilly shares slid further below the 50-day line and are now below the prior 314.10 buy point.
Green Brick Partners soared nearly 14% in heavy volume and is approaching new highs. The homebuilder had a strong second quarter due to record home sales. Earnings of $2.08 per share more than doubled from the year-ago period.
Futures: Jobs Data To Test Fed's Soft Landing; Tesla Stock Splitting
Stocks to Watch
EV maker Lucid lowered its production target to 6,000-7,000 vehicles for 2022 due to supply chain and logistics hurdles. The company's second-quarter revenue came in at $97.3 million with a loss of 33 cents a share.
Shares of Fortinet sold off 16% and are on pace for the steepest decline since October 2015, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The IBD 50 stock sold off following its earnings report. Shares had been meeting resistance along the 200-day line.
Follow Vidya on Twitter at @IBD_Vidya for more commentary on the stock market today.
