Dow Jones futures edged higher early Wednesday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Hot IPO Karman Holdings and Exelixis reported after the close.
The stock market rally continued to run Tuesday as Trump tariff and AI developments have turned into clear positives. The S&P 500 is now back in positive territory for 2025. The Dow Jones retreated, but that reflected UnitedHealth plunging on another cost warning as well as its CEO stepping down.
Nvidia flashed an aggressive entry on Saudi chip sales. Other AI chip plays rallied, including Taiwan Semiconductor and Broadcom. Palantir Technologies and Carvana broke out.
With the stock market in a strong uptrend, investors can continue to add exposure.
Palantir stock is on IBD Leaderboard and the IBD 50, with Broadcom on the Leaderboard watchlist. Broadcom stock and Palantir are on the IBD Big Cap 20. The video embedded in this article discusses the stock market's action Tuesday and analyzes Nvidia, Palantir and Loar Holdings.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures edged higher vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.35%.
The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.48%. Crude oil futures declined 1%.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Key Earnings
KRMN stock jumped in premarket trade as Karman earnings topped views. The space and aerospace play rose 2.3% to 40.16 on Tuesday, around record highs. Investors could treat 38.58 as a buy point. Karman stock came public at $22 in February.
EXEL stock climbed modestly before the open after Exelixis earnings easily beat views. Shares fell 0.1% to 36.95 on Tuesday, stuck below the 21-day and 50-day lines. EXEL stock briefly topped a 40.02 consolidation buy point on May 5, but then fell back. Technically, the entry is no longer valid, though investors could use it.
Early Wednesday, Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings reported mixed results. TCEHY stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., is not yet trading. Shares fell 0.9% to 65.61 on Tuesday, above the 50-day line and not far from a cup-base buy point of 70.
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally, while technically mixed, had another strong session Tuesday. The Nvidia-Saudi chip deal and a tame CPI inflation report buoyed stocks, along with continued trade optimism.
The price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% in Tuesday's stock market trading as UnitedHealth stock dived 18%. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.8%. The small-cap Russell 2000 climbed 0.5%.
The S&P 500 and big-cap Nasdaq 100 moved into positive territory for the year. They're getting close to their late February peaks before the Trump tariff market sell-off.
Leading stocks generally acted well, perhaps even better than on Monday.
U.S. crude oil prices swelled 2.8% to $63.67 a barrel, up 9.6% over four sessions.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose four basis points to 4.5%, the highest close since late February and up nearly 23 basis points in four sessions. The 4.5% could be a key area for the stock market rally.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF ran up 2.7%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF gained 1.9%, with Palantir a major component. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF jumped 3.4. Nvidia stock is the No. 1 holding in SMH, with Taiwan Semiconductor and Broadcom also important weights in the ETF. The ARK Innovation ETF soared 5.4% and ARK Genomics sank 0.5%.
The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF advanced 0.9%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF rose 1.4% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund tumbled 3%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund climbed 0.7%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF was up 0.4%.
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Nvidia Saudi Deal Lifts NVDA, AI Stocks
Nvidia said Tuesday that it will send 18,000 of its cutting-edge Blackwell AI chips to Saudi Arabia.
The announcement came as President Donald Trump led a trip to the kingdom, along with Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang and other top CEOs. Last week, the Trump administration said it would not go ahead with an 11th-hour Biden administration push to enact a three-tier global AI chip restriction system. That would have limited the most-advanced AI chip sales to a small number of close U.S. allies.
The Trump administration reportedly is mulling letting the United Arab Emirates buy up to one million Nvidia AI chips, Bloomberg reported.
Nvidia stock jumped 5.6% to 129.93, clearing the 200-day moving average and breaking above a trendline. That offered an aggressive entry. NVDA stock has soared since hitting a 52-week low of 86.62 intraday on April 7.
Taiwan Semiconductor popped 3.75% to 193.99 after regaining its 200-day on Monday. TSM stock is rising up toward a 226.40 cup-base buy point, according to MarketSurge.
Broadcom stock gained 4.9% to 232.42, continuing to power up the right side of a base after reclaiming the 200-day on April 25.
Palantir Stock, Carvana Break Out
Palantir stock ran up 8.1% to 128.10, clearing a 125.25 cup-with-handle buy point. Even with the recent post-earnings pause, PLTR stock is 34% above its 50-day moving average.
Carvana stock advanced 4.8% to 293.06, just above a 292.84 buy point but far above its 50-day line. Several other stocks breaking out are greatly extended from the 50-day line.
That may reflect impressive strength, especially in the context of powerful market gains. But the risks of a significant pullback are there.
What To Do Now
The market rally is in great shape. The S&P 5000 and Nasdaq have decisively cleared their 200-day lines. Market leadership is broad and strong. The big market headwinds — Trump tariffs and AI spending — are now tailwinds.
A market pause or pullback wouldn't be a shock. It could even be constructive, letting major averages close the gap on leading stocks.
But the general trend looks bullish. Investors should have been taking advantage, being heavily invested after gradually building up exposure over the past three weeks.
Keep working on watchlists, looking for new or add-on buying opportunities.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
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