The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Thursday morning after the first jobless claims data. Investors now await Friday’s highly anticipated July jobs report.
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Thursday’s top gainers include Albemarle ( ALB ), Alibaba ( BABA ) and APA ( APA ). Shares of IBD Leaderboard Cheniere Energy ( LNG ), Quanta Services ( PWR ), ELF Beauty ( ELF ), eBay ( EBAY ) and Fortinet ( FTNT ) also moved.
Albemarle shares jumped nearly 4% on strong earnings results. Alibaba rose 6%. APA shares fell 3.5%. Cheniere lost 1%. Quanta shares fell more than 1%. ELF shares gained more than 4%. eBay was down 4%. Fortinet fell more than 10%.
Tesla ( TSLA ) was up about 1% early Thursday. Elsewhere, Dow Jones tech leaders Apple ( AAPL ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) were slightly lower ahead of the open today. And Walmart ( WMT ) lost a fraction after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is laying off hundreds of workers in a restructuring effort due to falling profits.
In the strengthening environment of the stock market, Dow Jones shares of Chevron (CVX) and UnitedHealth (UNH), as well as equinox ( EQNR ), Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), and Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) are among the stocks to watch. Note that the continued volatility of the stock market is a reason to remain more conservative despite recent signs of strength.
Quanta, UnitedHealth and Vertex are IBD ranked stocks. Chevron and Exxon were featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Exxon Mobil was the IBD Stock of the Day on Friday.
Dow Jones today: Treasury yields, oil prices, jobless claims
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%, while the S&P 500 edged lower. The Nasdaq tech composite gained 0.3% in morning trade.
Among exchange-traded funds, Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust ( QQQ ) rose 0.3%. And the SPDR S&P 500 ETF ( SPY ) lost less than 0.1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.71% Thursday morning, on pace to snap a two-day winning streak. The 10-year Treasury yield is trying to recover after hitting its lowest level since early April. Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices fell as West Texas Intermediate futures traded below $90 a barrel.
Jobless claims first came out at 8:30 am ET. Initial jobless claims rose to 260,000 from 256,000 the previous week, in line with Econoday estimates. On Friday morning, the Labor Department’s jobs report for July will be released. The US economy is expected to have added 250,000 jobs in July with the unemployment rate at 3.6%.
Stock Exchange meeting
Wednesday’s bullish session saw gains of 2.6% in the Nasdaq, 1.3% in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1.4% in the Russell 2000 and 1.6% in the large-cap S&P 500.
Wednesday’s The Big Picture column commented: “Volume was up 19% on the Nasdaq from the previous day. That’s bullish. You want to see institutions piling up stocks with abandon, especially on strong days like Wednesday.”
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Five Dow Jones Stocks to Watch Now
Dow Jones stocks to watch: Chevron, UnitedHealth
Energy giant Dow Jones Chevron is building the right side of a cup base that has a buy point at 182.50. Watch for a possible move to offer a lower entry. Chevron shares fell 0.2% on Thursday.
Health insurance giant and IBD-rated UnitedHealth shares remain in buy range above the 518.80 buy points of its double-handle fund base amid 1% gain on Wednesday, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Shares were slightly lower on Thursday.
UNH stock scores a solid 94 out of a 99 IBD Composite Rating, according to the IBD Stock Review. Investors can use the IBD Composite Rating to easily measure the quality of a stock’s fundamental and technical metrics.
The 4 most important growth stocks to watch in the current stock market rally
Top stocks to watch: Equinor, Exxon, Vertex
Shares on IBD Leaderboard watchlist Equinor are trading off the 38.80 double-fund buy points after Wednesday’s 1.9% drop. Shares fell 2% Thursday morning.
Friday’s IBD stock of the day, Exxon Mobil, retook the 50-day line last week and broke through an aggressive early entry around 93.24. But the energy giant abandoned those two key levels on Wednesday, falling 3.2%. Meanwhile, a cup base entry at 105.67 is also in play. Shares of XOM were down 1% early Thursday.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals continues to trade below its cup-handled 279.23 buy point and 50-day line within a recent bearish. The company will report earnings on Thursday afternoon. Vertex shares rose 1% earlier.
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Tesla stock
Tesla shares rose another 2.3% on Wednesday, extending a winning streak to six sessions. The stock is at its highest level since early May, but is still trying to decisively clear resistance around its 200-day line, which is a key level to watch.
Shares were up about 1% Thursday morning.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares rallied 3.8% on Wednesday, moving higher on the right side of a new base. Shares were down 0.2% Thursday morning.
Microsoft gained 2.8% on Wednesday as the stock rebounded from two straight days of losses. The software giant is still below its long-term 200-day line. The stock closed about 20% off its 52-week high. Microsoft was down 0.4% early Thursday.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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