Tech futures pared their gains after the Labor Department’s positive January jobs report, while Dow Jones futures fell.On the other hand, Magnificent Seven stock Amazon (AMZN), apple (AAPL) and meta platform (META) had a big earnings move on Friday, while Tesla stock fell on recall news.
X
Before the opening bell, tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.7% in premarket trading. Dow Jones futures fell 0.15%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.7%, and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 0.4%.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.95% on Friday after recent heavy losses. Additionally, oil prices have taken a break following this week’s steep declines, as West Texas Intermediate futures prices continue to fall. WTI futures fell below $74 per barrel.
Early Friday, the Labor Department announced that the U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, compared to 216,000 in December. This was expected to add 170,000 jobs, according to Econoday estimates. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. It was expected to rise to 3.8%, compared with 3.7% in December.
Earnings Report: Amazon, Apple, Meta Report
Amazon released its quarterly results late Thursday, beating expectations for both profit and revenue. Amazon shares rose 7.4% in premarket trading.
Apple met Wall Street’s targets for its fiscal first quarter due to sales growth in iPhone 15 devices and services. However, Apple shares fell 2.9% in early trading due to declining sales in China.
Meta reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits and announced its first dividend plan. Meta stock soared 17% as a result.
Other key revenue drivers for Friday included: atlassian (team), deckers outdoor (deck) and sketchers (SKX) and energy giant chevron (CVX) and exxon mobil (XOM)
Atlassian shares fell more than 7%, while Deckers shares soared more than 10% in premarket trading. Skechers stock plunged 9% in morning trading. In the end, Chevron rose more than 1% and Exxon rose 0.4%.
Dow Jones rebound
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% and the S&P 500 rose 1.25%. Additionally, the Nasdaq Composite Index, which has a high proportion of tech stocks, rose 1.3%.
Thursday’s Big Picture column said, “The index remains well above its 50-day moving average, which would be a logical support area if the market pulls back further. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 continues to record high distribution days. And seven.”
As the stock market continues to rise, now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column. Be sure to read how to adapt to changing market conditions with IBD’s new exposure levels.
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Best stocks to buy and watch
draft kings (DKNG), KKR (KKR) and snowflake (SNOW) — Added Dow Jones component Merck (MRK) and walmart (WMT) — One of the best stocks to buy and watch during the current market rally.
KKR and Walmart were featured in this “Stocks Near a Buy Zone” column. DraftKings is included in the IBD Leaderboard Watchlist stocks and KKR is included in IBD SwingTrader.
Get real-time buy and sell alerts on stock market leaders with IBD Leaderboard
Dow Jones: Merck returns to profit
Thursday’s rally is pushing pharmaceutical company Merck out of buy range above the cup-based buy point of 119.65, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. The stock was down 0.2% on Friday morning.
Amid Thursday’s nearly 2% rally, discount retailer Walmart is in buy range above a 163.57 entry for cups with handles. The stock rose 0.3% early Friday.
4 Top Growth Stocks to Watch stock market rise
DraftKings holds buy point
DraftKings, an IBD Leaderboard Watchlist stock, rose 4.1% on Thursday, finishing well above the official double-bottom buy point of 38.97. DraftKings stock rose 1.2% Friday morning.
IBD SwingTrader stock KKR is above its flat base entry of 85.66 amid Thursday’s 1.8% gain. Stocks were flat on Friday morning.
Software leader Snowflake remains below a buy point of 202.83 on a flat basis despite rising 2.2% on Thursday, according to IBD MarketSmith. Snowflake stock rose nearly 5% on Friday.
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Best bet for Friday action
These are the four best stocks to watch in the stock market today, including the Dow Jones leader.
| Company Name | symbol | correct purchase point | Types of purchase points |
|---|---|---|---|
| novo nordisk | (NVO) | 105.69 | flat base |
| Merck | (MRK) | 119.65 | cup base |
| draft kings | (DKNG) | 39.35 | cup base |
| spotify | (spot) | 202.88 | flat base |
Source: IBD data as of January 31, 2024
IBD experts break down the top stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live.
Magnificent Seven stocks: Nvidia, Tesla
Magnificent Seven Stocks Nvidia (NVDA) rose 1.9%; tesla (TSLA) fell 0.8% in pre-market trading on Friday.
Nvidia rose 2.4% on Thursday, moving more than 20% above the AA505.48 buy point on a flat basis after a breakout move on January 8th. Stock prices are even closer to all-time highs.
Tesla rose 0.8% on Thursday and remains near recent lows after Wednesday’s decline.
Early Friday morning, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced that Tesla would recall about 2.2 million vehicles due to problems with brake warning lights. According to the agency, the recall will be carried out through an online software update.
Dow Jones Leader: Microsoft
Among the Dow Jones stocks in the Magnificent Seven are: microsoft (MSFT) traded mixed ahead of Friday’s stock market trading.
Microsoft stock rebounded 1.6% on Thursday, but remains in buy range above the 384.30 buy point on a sideways basis. The software giant added 1.1% Friday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X, formerly known as Twitter. @IBD_SLehtonen Learn more about growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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