The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes pared some losses by the closing bell Monday, but the damage was done as the war of words heated up between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Netflix was somewhat of a bright spot as it briefly cleared a buy point, but it ultimately slipped back below it on the stock market today.
Losses intensified as the session wore on, adding to last week's damage. The Dow plunged 971 points, or 2.5%. Among Dow components, Nvidia was hit hardest, diving 4.5%. It fell amid news that China's Huawei Technologies is to begin mass shipments of its own artificial intelligence chips next month. Apple also fell, dipping nearly 2%.
Health insurer UnitedHealth lagged badly, falling more than 6% as its post-earnings sell-off continues. After plummeting more than 22% on Thursday, the managed care giant hit a low on Monday not seen since October 2021. Salesforce dropped 4.5%.
The Nasdaq composite was slammed even harder, plunging 2.6%. Electric-vehicle play Tesla lagged here, falling nearly 6%. It knifed lower after Barclays cut its price target to 275 from 325 ahead of the electric-car maker's earnings report due late Tuesday. Constellation Energy did even worse, falling nearly 7% despite moving off lows for the day.
Stock Market Today: Consumer Discretionary, Tech Lag
The S&P 500 skidded 2.4%. The benchmark index's sectors were all negative on the stock market today. Consumer discretionary and technology took the hardest blows. The defensive consumer staples area held up the best but even that was down by 1.3%.
Discover Financial Services outperformed on the benchmark index, rising 3.6%. Fidelity National Information Services was also strong, gaining more than 2%. It remains below its 200-day line, though. Hospital stock Universal Health Services plummeted more than 10%.
Volume was lower vs. the same time on Thursday on the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.
Small caps were also getting punished, with the Russell 2000 index down more than 2%. The index remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Growth stocks were getting mauled by the bears. The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund fell nearly 3% as it hit session lows. The fund lost ground on its 21-day exponential moving average, MarketSurge analysis showed.
Ferrovial Stock Goes On Wild Ride, Ends Lower
One issue that made a noteworthy move on the stock market today was Spanish infrastructure play Ferrovial.
The stock cleared a cup-with-handle entry of 46.57 with gusto, MarketSurge shows. It ran as high as 21.2% above this level, triggering a profit-taking signal, before reversing sharply.
By the end of the session it was down more than 2%, and back below its entry. This means it also flashed a round-trip sell signal in the same session.
Overall performance is good, but not ideal. This is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 90 out of 99. While it has an Earnings Per Share Rating of 97, there no analyst estimates for 2025 or 2026.
Bitcoin Shines But Some Related Stocks Fall
One area that has been a bright spot in recent weeks is bitcoin. The cryptocurrency was up more than 3% near $87,250, according to CoinDesk. Despite this, the digital currency is down almost 7% for the year.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF each rose roughly 3%.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, did manage to eke out a gain after falling more than 1% earlier in the session. It is trading above its short-term and major moving averages after previously getting support at the 200-day line.
Other cryptocurrency stocks, however, were lower. Coinbase Global edged lower while miner Hut 8, which was previously a member of the IBD 50 list, skidded nearly 5%.
Rival bitcoin mining play Riot Platforms and Mara, formerly known as Marathon Digital, were both down nearly 3%.
3:32 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Bill Ackman Equity Skids
Vehicle rental play Hertz Global had been on a tear following the news famed investor Bill Ackman had taken a big position in the company.
It surged after Ackman's Pershing Square disclosed Wednesday it had taken a big position in the company. It now owns nearly 20% of the car rental icon and is its second-largest shareholder.
But it was giving up some of its gains, though it was off session lows.
It previously surged as much as 64% above a 5.32 entry, according to MarketSurge. This means it easily surpassed the 20% profit zone.
Even with today's decline it remains nearly 48% above this buy point. However, those following IBD investing principles should be looking for stocks priced 10 and above.
Also, overall performance remains subpar. Hertz stock current has an IBD Composite Rating of 69 out of 99. While earnings are seen rising 72% this year and 90% in 2026, it currently holds a dismal EPS Rating of 16 out of 99.
12:37 p.m. ET
Amazon Stock Slapped After Downgrade
Amazon also fell on the stock market today after it was mauled by a bearish analyst call. Raymond James analyst Josh Beck downgraded the e-commerce giant from a strong buy to outperform rating. He also slashed his price target to 195 from 275.
While Beck is "constructive on AI prospects/long-term investments" for Amazon, he also sees "rising" risks for the company's earnings.
The Dow Jones component fell more than 3%, further adding to its losses for the year. It currently trades around 17% below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, according to MarketSurge.
The 50-day line has also fallen below its 200-day, a bearish technical maneuver known as the "death cross."
Amazon stock has now shed nearly a quarter of its value thus far this year.
U.S. Leading Indicators Fall
There were more signs of weakness in the American economy as several U.S. leading economic indicators came in below expectations Monday.
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index fell 0.7%, to 100.5, in March vs. the prior month's upwardly revised decline of 0.2%. Economists had expected a decline of 0.5%, according to Econoday.
The business think tank said March's decline was concentrated among three components — consumer expectations dropped further, stock prices suffered their biggest monthly decline since September 2022, and new manufacturing orders softened.
"The U.S. LEI for March pointed to slowing economic activity ahead. That said, the data does not suggest that a recession has begun or is about to start," the Conference Board's senior manager, Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, said in a news release.
The Conference Board also downwardly revised its U.S. GDP growth forecast for 2025 from 2% to 1.6%. Zabinska-La Monica said this is "somewhat below the economy's potential."
11:01 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Netflix Tests Entry
Streaming play Netflix tested a buy point Monday following its earnings beat ahead of the Easter break.
Netflix stock briefly moved above a double-bottom base with an ideal entry point of 998.70, MarketSurge analysis shows. However, it was forced back under it amid broader pressure.
Earnings popped 25% to $6.61 a share as revenue rose 13% to $10.54 billion. It beat analyst expectations on both metrics.
For the current quarter, Netflix predicts earnings will rise 44% to $7.03 a share. It also forecast a 15% revenue spike to $11.04 billion. Both were better than expected.
A gaggle of Wall Street firms made bullish calls on Netflix stock following the quarterly report.
Netflix continues to post superior financial results "while its streaming peers generate substantial losses (and) are resorting to aggressive price hikes amidst generally mediocre subscriber results," Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said in a client note.
Wlodarczak reiterated his buy rating on Netflix stock and upped his price target to 1,350 from 1,250.
Dollar Hits Three-Year Low As Trump Lashes Out At Powell
The U.S. dollar was under more pressure Monday, falling to a three-year low amid lingering worries that President Trump will try to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The world's reserve currency has been on the retreat since the Trump came into power in January.
Trump slammed Powell in a Truth Social post Monday, "there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW."
He also noted that Europe has trimmed rates seven times and claimed Powell lowered rates last year to help his Democrat rival Kamala Harris' election bid.
It comes after the president last week said in a different post that "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough" after the central banker said Trump's tariff agenda could cause a near-term rise in inflation.
Trump on Friday hit out again: "If we had a Fed Chairman that understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down, too. He should bring them down."
White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett also said Friday that the administration is studying whether they can fire Powell.
For his part, Powell has said he cannot be fired and that he intends to end his term in May 2026.
Stock Market Today: Gold Shines Amid Uncertainty
The U.S. Dollar Index fell as low as 97.92 on Monday, the lowest level since March 2022. The index measures the dollar against a basket of currencies that includes the Euro and the Japanese yen.
In contrast gold, which acts as a hedge during periods of economic uncertainty, reached fresh highs today.
"Stocks that are cheap for a reason, which typically perform the best, have done extremely poorly so far this regime, indicating that far more than the dollar weakening is impacting cohort performance during the recent regime of dollar weakness," Trivariate Research founder Adam Parker said in a note to clients.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
