Major stock indexes were flat to higher Monday after President Donald Trump said he "couldn't care less" if automakers raise prices due to tariffs. Meanwhile, a Warren Buffett stock tested a buy point. And new Trump stock Newsmax exploded on its initial public offering even as fellow IPO play CoreWeave lagged on the stock market today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed higher for a gain of 418 points, or 1%. Among Dow blue chips, Walmart and Sherwin Williams fared best, with each up around 3%. Boeing struggled most with a drop of 1.6%, while Nvidia and Amazon.com also lagged.
The Nasdaq composite was in dire straits when the session began but minimized its losses and finished the day down just 0.1%. MercadoLibre fell hardest with a drop of nearly 5%. Exelon and Warner Bros. Discovery outperformed with gains of more than 3% each.
Stock Market Today: Energy Shines, IBD 50 Mauled
The benchmark S&P 500 reversed higher to rise 0.6%. S&P 500 sectors were mostly positive on the stock market today. Energy and consumer staples fared best. Technology and consumer discretionary were the worst laggards.
Moderna came off session lows but plunged nearly 9% following news that the Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks, has resigned. An advocate of immunizations like those made by Moderna, Marks resigned after clashing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic.
Among other S&P stocks, United Airlines came off lows for the day but still finished the session down 1.7%. Charles River Laboratories dropped more than 3%. Palantir Technologies lost nearly 2%, falling for its fifth session in a row. The data analysis stock is trading nearly 8% below its 50-day line.
Volume was higher vs. Friday on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, according to preliminary data.
Small caps also fought back against the bears on the stock market today. The Russell 2000 index dropped 0.6%, but also bounced off lows. It still sits well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Growth stocks took an even harder spanking, with the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund dropping 1%. This was near session highs however. The fund is now down nearly 6% so far this year.
'Secret' Warren Buffett Stock Tests Entry
One stock that has been outperforming so far is Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway. And one of the Oracle of Omaha's stock picks made a bullish move on the stock market today by clearing a conventional entry. Investors should be cautious about investing in the current correction.
Chubb has a first-stage consolidation entry of 302.05, MarketSurge analysis shows. It briefly cleared the level, but ended the day pennies below it. Its relative strength line just hit fresh heights, a bullish sign as it tries to break out.
The stock became famous after Berkshire built up a significant position in the company while keeping its identity secret.
The stock has an IBD Composite Rating of 95 out of a best-possible 99. So far this year the insurance play has risen more than 9%, which is easily better than the benchmark S&P 500.
Buffett started building the position in 2023 and its identity was finally unveiled in May 2024. Berkshire has slightly more than 27 million shares in the firm. It is the firm's ninth-largest portfolio holding.
New Trump Stock Newsmax Rockets
Investors keen to invest in stocks related President Trump now have a new option — conservative news play Newsmax. Shares made an explosive debut Monday, ending the session with a gain of more than 735%. The equities were originally priced at $10 apiece.
Newsmax stock ended the day at 83.51, contrasting sharply with the troubled debut of highly touted CoreWeave.
Newsmax's debut comes after the company raised $75 million through the sale of 7.5 million shares.
The Boca Raton, Fla.-based firm claims to reach more than 40 million Americans regularly through the Newsmax channel.
Nvidia-Backed CoreWeave Crushed
Meanwhile, CoreWeave got hammered on Monday, its second day of trading, dropping more than 7%. CoreWeave was unchanged after its Friday debut.
CoreWeave's IPO came after the cloud-computing startup sold 37.5 million shares at 40 a share, which reaped $1.5 billion and valued the firm at $20 billion.
That was well below CoreWeave's official target of offering 49 million shares at $47 to $55, raising up to $2.7 billion.
CoreWeave is a pure artificial intelligence play, backed by Nvidia. CoreWeave's lackluster IPO reflects the chill that has come over AI, which was the hottest trade of 2024. Nvidia lost more than 1% Monday.
Still, it is worth keeping an eye on CoreWeave stock as it could rally with gusto when the next uptrend takes hold.
3:28 p.m. ET
Tesla Stock Pares Losses After Bearish Wall Street Call
Tesla took another blow Monday after a bearish analyst call weighed on the stock, but started to pare its losses as the session wore on. Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro reiterated a buy rating on the equity but he cut his price target to 455 from 474.
Genaro also reduced his first-quarter and full-year forecasts for deliveries. Additionally, he said protests against Chief Executive Elon Musk are another headwind.
Tesla stock plunged nearly 8% at one point on the stock market today, but limited those losses to less than 2% in recent action.
Bears tamped down the stock after it attempted to retake its 200-day moving average. And while it gained 6% last week, Tesla closed well off highs for that period on Friday.
Last week Musk took to social media to say that "Tesla is NOT unscathed" on tariffs and that "the cost impact is not trivial."
2:15 p.m. ET
BlackRock Chief Issues Warning, Touts Opportunity
BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink used his annual letter to investors as a conduit to flag some warnings about the economy and the broader political climate.
"Today, many countries have twin, inverted economies: one where wealth builds on wealth; another where hardship builds on hardship," said Fink, who oversees the world's largest asset manager. "The divide has reshaped our politics, our policies, even our sense of what's possible. Protectionism has returned with force. The unspoken assumption is that capitalism didn't work and it's time to try something new."
However, Fink believes that the current environment could also provide an opportunity for investors in the long run.
"Governments can't fund infrastructure through deficits. The deficits can't get much higher. Instead, they'll turn to private investors," he said. "Meanwhile, companies won't rely solely on banks for credit. Bank lending is constrained. Instead, businesses will go to the markets."
But he also said that capital is being "deployed too narrowly," which is why his company has expanded into both private credit and infrastructure investing.
Stock Market Today: These Equities Test Entries
Despite the negative action, a few plucky equities were trying to stage breakouts.
Ollie's Bargain Outlet was outperforming the broader market. It also moved above a double-bottom-base buy point of 115.42, MarketSurge analysis shows.
Overall strong performance is reflected in the stock's Composite Rating of 90 out of 99 from Investor's Business Daily. However, its Earnings Per Share Rating of 56 is far from ideal.
Utility stock New Jersey Resources briefly moved above a cup-with-handle entry of 49.60, though it reversed lower.
Earnings are a key strength here, with the stock's EPS Rating coming in at 96 out of 99. New Jersey Resources also offers a dividend yield of 3.7%, which is better than the S&P 500 average.
12:29 p.m. ET
Business Gauge Better Than Views
In economic news, the ISM Chicago Business Barometer for March came in at 47.6, which was above economists' expectations. It was also above the prior month's reading of 45.5.
This was its third monthly gain in a row. It also came in at the highest level since November 2023.
Despite the improvement, it remained in contraction territory. This was its 16th successive month in decline.
As a special question, respondents were asked, "With potential tariff increases in the coming months, is your business taking any of the following precautions/considerations?"
In total, 35% answered, "increasing prices," while 25% responded "considering new suppliers" and "increasing inventories." Additionally, 18% said "looking into on-shoring."
10:58 a.m. ET
Trump Stays Firm Despite Tariff Fear
President Trump has come under increasing pressure ahead of so-called tariff "Liberation Day" on Wednesday. However Trump told NBC News over the weekend that he had not asked auto industry executives to hold off on price hikes.
"I couldn't care less. I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty," Trump said.
He added that "if the prices on foreign cars go up, they're going to buy American cars."
At the moment, foreign cars and auto parts face a 25% tax. Auto tariffs are set to take effect on midnight on April 3.
Parts compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement are to remain tariff-free, at least for now.
Stock Market Today: Flying With Mr. Cooper
One stock that was a clear outperformer on the stock market today was Mr. Cooper. It soared by double digits on news it is to be acquired by Rocket Companies.
The Rocket Mortgage parent is snapping up the firm in an all-stock transaction for $9.4 billion. The acquisition will add about 7 million clients and should also should also boost loan volume and recurring revenue.
Holders of Mr. Cooper stock will receive 11 Rocket shares for every Mr. Cooper share they own. While Mr. Cooper stock was surging, the deal was having the opposite effect on Rocket. Shares tumbled nearly 8%.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
