Dow Jones futures rose solidly early Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures as Meta Platforms, Microsoft rose solidly on earnings. Sprouts Farmers Market and Robinhood Markets also reported after the close.
Tesla stock turned slightly higher before the open after Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm denied a Wall Street Journal report that Tesla's board opened a search for a CEO to succeed Elon Musk about a month ago.
The stock market rally suffered sharp losses Wednesday morning amid a negative GDP reading for the first quarter, but slashed losses following a tame inflation reading, ultimately closing narrowly mixed in an encouraging upside reversal.
Robinhood stock and Sprouts are on the IBD 50. Sprouts stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20.
Microsoft stock is in the IBD Long-Term Leaders list.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures gained 0.7% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures rose 1.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 1.8%. Microsoft is a Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq giant. Meta stock is an S&P 500 and Nasdaq titan. The Microsoft and Meta results also lifted several other tech giants.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite are set to move above their 50-day lines at Thursday's open.
The 10-year Treasury yield edged down to 4.14%.
Crude oil fell 2% after tumbling to four-year lows on Wednesday.
Investors will get weekly jobless claims data at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the April ISM manufacturing index and the March construction spending report at 10 a.m. ET.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live
Meta, Microsoft Earnings
Meta stock rose sharply in premarket trade as Meta Platforms earnings easily beat and revenue also topped. The social media giant also gave upbeat revenue guidance and raised capital spending plans. Shares fell 1% to 549 on Wednesday, closing off lows. Meta stock is set to test its 50-day line at Thursday's open and perhaps its 200-day.
MSFT stock surged in extended action, signaling a move above its 200-day line as Microsoft earnings solidly beat views. The Dow tech giant was bullish on the conference call. Microsoft stock edged up 0.3% to 395.26, finding support near the 50-day line.
SFM stock edged lower overnight, paring solid initial losses. Sprouts earnings exceeded forecasts and guidance was strong. Shares dipped 0.75% to 171 on Wednesday, ending a six-day win streak. Sprouts stock has a 178.99 cup-base buy point.
HOOD stock rose solidly in extended trade as Robinhood earnings topped earnings views. The stock-and-crypto trading app edged down 0.5% to 49.13 on Wednesday, well off early lows. HOOD stock has a 49.88 double-bottom buy point. Investors might want to use Monday's high of 51.07.
Howmet Aerospace jumped out a buy zone after beating EPS views. McDonald's fell slightly from near a buy point after missing views. Eli Lilly backed off after falling short on earnings.
Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks
Stock Market Rally Wednesday
The stock market rally initially tumbled but came well off lows to close mixed. Tame core PCE inflation eased concerns from negative Q1 GDP and weak April job growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35% in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite lost just 0.1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 sank 0.6%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rebounded off their 21-day lines Wednesday morning to close near their 50-day lines. Getting above that level would be a bullish signal, but it doesn't have to happen right away.
The major indexes have been closing at or near session highs in recent days, a positive trend.
U.S. crude oil prices sank 3.7% to $58.21 a barrel, a four-year low. Copper futures tumbled 5.75% on Wednesday. Weak China manufacturing data, along with the latest U.S. economic reports, bode ill for energy and industrial commodities.
The 10-year Treasury yield was flat at 4.17%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF fell 1%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF lost a fraction. Microsoft is a major IGV holding. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF climbed 0.5%.
ARK Innovation ETF sank 1.3% and ARK Genomics ETF declined 1.4%. Tesla stock is the No. 1 holding across ARK Invest's ETFs. Cathie Wood's ARK also owns a lot of Robinhood stock.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF retreated 0.9%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF slumped 2.7% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund climbed 0.85%
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund gained 0.7%.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF edged up 0.2%.
Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Tesla Chair Denies Report That Board Mulled Elon Musk's Exit
Chair Robyn Denholm denied as "absolutely false" a WSJ report Wednesday night that Tesla's board several weeks ago had reached out to search firms to begin a process to replacing Musk as CEO. About the same time, the report also met with Musk, telling him he had to spend more time with Tesla. On the Q1 earnings call last week, Musk confirmed he would soon spend most of his time at Tesla, stepping away from the government.
"The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead," Denholm said in a statement posted on Tesla's official X account.
Tesla stock was slightly higher early Thursday.
Tesla stock fell 3.4% to 282.16 on Wednesday, back below the 200-day line. That did follow a six-session win streak. Shares came well off lows. Shares fell as Waymo, the robotaxi unit of Google-parent Alphabet, teamed up with Toyota Motor with the goal of producing self-driving vehicles for personal use.
China EV Sales
China EV makers are releasing April sales on Thursday, though BYD may report on Friday. BYD, XPeng and Xiaomi are trading below their 50-day lines, but still within decent consolidations. Tesla rivals Nio, Li Auto, Zeekr have weaker share prices.
Tesla does not disclose monthly China sales but weekly EV registration data point to lackluster deliveries.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally is facing some resistance at a natural spot, but the indexes also showed some resilience. So did leading stocks.
Investors who have built decent exposure over the past week could choose to stand pat, waiting to see if the S&P 500 and Nasdaq can decisively clear their 50-day lines.
Trump tariffs, earnings and economic data could trigger big market moves.
Stay engaged and be prepared. That means having your watchlists and exit strategies ready.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
