The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched lower while other indexes saw gains fade Monday after President-elect Donald Trump denied a report that said he planned to pare back his tariff policy. Nvidia stock popped ahead of an appearance by Chief Executive Jensen Huang. And Palantir Technologies swooned on the stock market today after a bearish call.
Meanwhile, FuboTV saw its price more than triple amid a deal with Walt Disney while a plethora of stocks cleared buy points.
Indexes closed well off their peaks for the day but most added to Friday's gains. The Dow reversed lower, closing the session down 26 points. This equates to a dip of less than 0.1%. Outside of Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon.com fared best, rising 1.1% and 1.5% respectively. Procter & Gamble lagged, falling 2.7%.
The Nasdaq composite fared best among the major indexes as it popped 1.2%. It pulled further above its 21-day exponential moving average in the process.
Memory chip stock Micron Technology was one of the best performers in the Nasdaq as it surged 10.4% amid broader exuberance among semiconductors. It is off recent lows and has moved back above its 50-day moving average. The fact that the latter benchmark sits below the 200-day line means buying here could be risky. It was pipped at the post late by Microstrategy, the Bitcoin play rising 11.6%.
Stock Market Today: Sectors End Mixed
The S&P 500 gained 0.5% and started to pull away from its 50-day moving average after closing at the line on Friday. Super Micro Computer was the second-best stock in the index as it vaulted nearly 9%, but was off highs.
Axon Enterprise flashed a sell signal by undercutting its 50-day line amid a decline of 5.1%. The police equipment stock had been a member of the IBD Leaderboard list of stocks, but was removed this morning.
The S&P 500 sectors ended mixed with the bears pushed back hard against the bulls. Communication services and technology were the strongest areas. Real estate and utilities lagged the most.
Small caps ceded gains late, with the Russell 2000 closing the session down 0.1%. The Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund moved off session lows to post a gain of 0.7%.
Treasury yields were mixed. The 10-year Treasury note rose three basis points to 4.62% while the two-year fell one basis point to 4.27%.
3:40 p.m. ET
Bears Bite Palantir After Wall Street Call
Palantir was one of the best-performing stocks of 2024, rising a remarkable 340% for the year. Now the big debate among Wall Street analysts will be whether some mean reversion is overdue.
The bears bared their teeth Monday after Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh slapped an underweight rating on the stock.
"While acknowledging strong execution and momentum, we see success more than priced in at the current multiple premium," he said in a note to clients.
Singh's price target of 60 means the stock could fall as much as 25% from Friday's closing price of 79.89. Nevertheless, he did concede that the company had got "lot of things right" in the current "early stage of the AI era."
Palantir has given back nearly all of Friday's 6.3% gain amid a decline of more than 5% on the stock market today. However it is also getting support at the 21-day exponential moving average, an encouraging sign for bulls.
Trump Win Certified As Trudeau Resigns
There were two important political events in North America Monday. First, President-elect Trump's election win was certified. His erstwhile rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost her bid for the presidency in November, presided over the certification at Congress.
It comes four years after Trump supporters staged a riot at the Capitol that delayed the certification of current President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Monday's event took part amid heavy security as a result.
Meanwhile, Trump's old sparring partner, Justin Trudeau, has resigned as prime minister of Canada, ending a tenure that lasted almost 10 years.
His administration was thrust into crisis after Deputy PM and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned amid disputes over spending and how to handle Canada's relationship with the incoming Trump administration. She is among the potential candidates to succeed Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 25% on Canadian goods. This drove a wedge between Trudeau and Freeland, with the latter saying the country has to take the threat seriously and keep its "fiscal powder dry" in case the levies take effect.
1:41 p.m. ET
Nvidia Stock Gains Ahead Of Jensen Huang Speech
Nvidia outperformed on the stock market today, rising nearly 5% and rallying further clear of its 50-day line.
The stock has also topped the 146.54 buy point of a double-bottom base. It can also be interpreted as a cup base with an ideal entry point of 152.89, according to MarketSurge analysis.
CEO Huang was set to deliver a keynote address at CES 2025 Monday night, which could also move the stock and the broader market.
The stock made monster gains amid massive artificial intelligence spending by the likes of Meta Platforms, Tesla and Microsoft.
Last week, Microsoft announced it is planning to splurge a further $80 billion in 2025 on data centers capable of handling AI workloads. Investors will be hoping for more bullish speech on AI from Huang later today.
Outside Dow Jones: More Stocks Test Buy Points
A few other stocks were testing entries amid the encouraging action on the stock market today. Enterprise software stock Braze nosed clear of a cup-with-handle entry of 46.19. Its IBD Composite Rating of 91 reflects solid all-around performance. While its EPS Rating of 81 is passable, strong growth is seen ahead.
The company is seen swinging from a loss of 25 cents per share in 2024 to a profit of 11 cents in the coming fiscal year ending this month. Analysts then expect earnings to ramp up 162% the next fiscal year.
The software maker offers a customer engagement platform. It operates in industries including retail and e-commerce, media, financial services, and travel and hospitality. Noteworthy holders include the Columbia Acorn Fund (ACRNX), a top-rated fund, according to MarketSurge research.
Security software play Fortinet tested a flat base entry of 100.59, but has slipped back below it. This is a second-stage pattern, which still counts as early.
Earnings performance is top notch here, with the stock holding a best-possible EPS Rating of 99 from Investor's Business Daily. However, Wall Street expects earnings to grow by just 8% in 2025.
Institutional ownership has been on the upswing, with its Accumulation/Distribution Rating sitting at B.
12:19 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: 3 Issues Clear Entries
With indexes in rally mode, now is a good time to be buying breakouts. Here are a trio of names clearing entries worthy of consideration.
GE Vernova has cleared a flat base buy point of 357.09, MarketSurge analysis shows. This is a second-stage base, which is favorable. It climbed to a record high after getting support at the 50-day moving average. The relative strength line has hit fresh heights also, a bullish sign.
The General Electric spin-off's losses narrowed last year. Institutions have been snapping up GE Vernova of late, with its Accumulation/Distribution Rating sitting at B. In total, 49% of shares are currently held by funds, according to MarketSurge data.
Premium apparel and accessories stock Ralph Lauren is rebounding well after getting support at the 21-day exponential moving average. On Monday it topped a consolidation entry of 237.16.
It holds an IBD Composite Rating of 91 out of 99. Its relative strength line has just hit fresh highs. But projected earnings growth is not quite up to snuff for those following the IBD methodology, with per-share earnings expected to climb 14% in the fiscal year ending in March and rising a further 12% the next fiscal year.
Further, financial services and insurance play Equitable Holdings is clearing a double-bottom base entry of 49.22. This is an early-stage pattern, a positive.
Earnings performance is solid for the company, with its EPS Rating sitting at 84 out of 99. Big Money has also been snapping up the stock lately, netting it an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B+. In total, 64% of its stock is held by funds, according to MarketSurge data.
10:42 a.m. ET
Trump Denies Tariff Report That Boosts Stocks
Worry over the tariff policy that will be pursued by the incoming second Trump administration has been an overhang for the stock market of late.
But equities got a boost after the Washington Post reported that Trump's aides are looking to apply worldwide tariffs on critical imports only. This helped ease concerns over tariffs on all imports, and thus dragging the U.S. into a damaging trade war.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, eased less than 1%. European stocks popped on the news.
However, Trump took to social media to deny the report.
"The story in the Washington Post, quoting so-called anonymous sources, which don't exist, incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back. That is wrong. The Washington Post knows it's wrong. It's just another example of Fake News," he said on Truth Social.
Chip Stocks Pop On Foxconn Growth
Chip stocks were boosted following strong growth for Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry.
The Apple assembler reported revenue growth of 15% to 2.13 trillion in New Taiwan dollars — around $65 billion — for the October to December period on Sunday.
The company said strong AI-server demand had driven growth at its cloud and network services division.
Broadcom and Arm both rallied more than 3%. Taiwan Semiconductor popped nearly 4%. TSMC is pulling away from a 205.63 cup-with-handle buy point, according to MarketSurge analysis. It is now extended past the buy zone.
Underlining the broad strength, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF jumped nearly 4%. It comes after the chip stocks lagged in December.
Stock Market Today: FuboTV Soars On Disney Deal
One stock that was shining brighter than almost all others on the stock market was FuboTV. It rocketed on news it has entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo.
The stock is on track for its largest percentage increase on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
FuboTV was on pace for its highest close since Dec. 19, 2023, when it finished at 3.49. IBD recommends avoiding stocks priced below 10.
Walt Disney stock was up more than 1%. It is forming a cup with handle with a buy point of 118.63, MarketSurge analysis shows.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
