Major indexes displayed more bearish action Thursday, as Wall Street grappled with uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs. The stock market closed off session lows but with substantial losses.
After being down more than 3% earlier in the day, the Nasdaq composite plunged 2.6% and closed back below the 200-day moving average.
Techs were the worst performing S&P 500 sector, as Technology Select Sector SPRD slid 2.8% to the lowest close in nearly six months. Only the consumer staples and energy sectors closed with gains, and minor ones at that.
The S&P 500 sank 1.8% and is now down 4% for the week. The index managed to close slightly above its 200-day line, a critical support level right now.
Small caps did not escape the selling, as the Russell 2000 fell 1.6%. The index is down more than 7% for the year. Watch for a potential 20% slide from the index's 2,466 peak, or a drop to 1,972, which would officially spell a bear market for small-cap companies.
And the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1%. The index is 2.6% below its 50-day moving average.
McDonald's Stock Analysis
Within the Dow industrials, McDonald's rose 1%. The Wall Street Journal reported the burger chain is investing heavily in new technology to boost ordering efficiency across 43,000 restaurants. The stock is forming a handle on a nearly five-month cup pattern and is trading not far below a new entry at 314.55.
According to IBD Stock Checkup, the Composite Rating for MCD is not great at 73 on a scale of 1 to 99. However, the fast food chain has shown an improved Relative Strength Rating of 83, ranking 19th within the large Retail-Restaurants industry group.
Earnings are expected to rise 5% at McDonald's this year to $12.30 a share, which would mark improvement vs. smaller gains and even declines in each of the prior four quarters. The stock currently holds an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%, higher than the S&P 500.
The restaurants group ranks 39th among 197 industries tracked by IBD in terms of six-month relative price performance.
Going back to the stock market today, volume rose on the Nasdaq and NYSE from Wednesday's levels, according to early data. Declining stocks topped advancers by about 13-to-5 on the NYSE and by about 11-to-5 on the Nasdaq, according to FactSet.
1:01 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: IBD 50 Firms Struggle For Gains
Inside the IBD 50, only four companies moved higher. They included China e-commerce giant PDD, which operates the Temu shopping app for cheap goods. Yet even PDD struggled to make much headway. Rather, the megacap retailer is fighting stiff resistance at its 200-day moving average.
Rival JD.com broke out past a cup with handle and its 43.63 pivot point. Gains at one point reached 6% and JD.com stock made a multimonth high of 46.45 before it got reeled back in. The wild action bespoke tough conditions on the stock market today for fresh breakouts.
The sell-off came despite Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly saying goods that are compliant with the current treaty between the U.S., Mexico and Canada would get a reprieve through April 2 from Trump's executive order calling for 25% tariffs. Markets had been suffering in recent sessions over the planned duties. Trump issued a reprieve for automakers earlier in the week.
Volume was mixed. Nasdaq turnover rose nearly 11% vs. the same time on Wednesday and cooled off 5% on the New York Stock Exchange. Wednesday's Big Picture offers more analysis on the current technical action by the Nasdaq and other key indexes.
Meanwhile, traders sold long-dated government bonds ahead of a key nonfarm payrolls report on Friday. The benchmark 10-year bond yield edged up 1 basis point to 4.28%.
Earlier In Stock Market Today: Tesla, Nvidia Lead Sell-Off Among Magnificent Seven
11:48 a.m. ET
Unemployment Claims Fall, Marvell Plunges
In economic news, the Labor Department's weekly unemployment claims fell sharply to 221,000 vs. 242,000 in the previous week. They were expected to rise to 244,000.
The news comes after the ADP private sector employment report on Wednesday sharply missed views, hinting that corporations are perhaps getting cautious on spending and growth plans amid a strong campaign of tariffs on a wide range of imports by the White House.
In the semiconductor sector, Marvell Technology gapped down at the open and plunged 17% to 74.74. It traded off the early-session low of 71.65 yet hung well below its rising 200-day moving average. The designer of high-performance networking chips reported solid quarterly results as earnings rose 30% and sales accelerated 27% to $1.82 billion.
However, gross margin fell very sharply to 23% vs. 46.2% in the prior quarter, MarketSurge data showed. Marvell stock delivered a profit-taking sell signal on Jan. 27, when shares undercut the 50-day line near 108 in the heaviest turnover in weeks. Marvell stock rebounded for nearly two weeks, but then reversed back below the key medium-term level of support and resistance.
This Investor's Corner offers further information on how to use either the 50-day moving average or the 10-week line as a key sell rule to lock in gains and keep losses small.
This Semiconductor ETF Slides, Software Maker Jumps
Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor exchange traded fund rebounded off lows, yet still slid 1.9%.
On the upside, Veeva Systems, which provides a large suite of business software for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, jumped nearly 8% and hit an intraday high of 238.89. The large cap tech is forming a base since peaking at 258.93.
Veeva posted a 26% an earnings increase to $1.74 a share on a 14% gain in revenue to $721 million. Wall Street sees earnings rising 10% in the fiscal year ending in January 2026.
Beyond The Stock Market Today
Gold futures backed off an intraday high of $2,935.90 an ounce and eased 0.1%.
Crude oil futures on the Nymex slipped 0.6% to $65.94 a barrel.
Please follow Chung on X/Twitter: @saitochung and @IBD_DChung
