Stocks were stuck in the red Tuesday afternoon amid disappointing May retail sales data, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved off session lows.
The Nasdaq fell 0.7%, the Dow Jones industrials lost 0.4% and the S&P 500 dipped 0.3% in the stock market today. Small caps tracked by the Russell 2000 slid 0.4%. Volume was mixed, lower on the NYSE but higher on the Nasdaq vs. the same time Monday.
Retail sales unexpectedly fell 1.3% in May from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported. The weakness was partly offset by upward revisions to April data. Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.8% on the month.
Wall Street economists expected retail sales to fall 0.5% overall, while rising 0.5% excluding autos.
Meantime, the Federal Open Market Committee starts its two-day monetary policy meeting today and it concludes tomorrow.
Among exchange traded funds on Tuesday, Innovator IBD 50 lost 0.9%, while the Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust fell 0.6%. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF slipped 0.2%.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 34269.76 | -123.99 | -0.36 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4244.62 | -10.53 | -0.25 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 14079.76 | -94.39 | -0.67 |
| Russell 2000 | 230.07 | -0.95 | -0.41 | |
| IBD 50 | 44.94 | -0.39 | -0.86 | |
Last Update: 1:36 PM ET 6/15/2021 |
||||
Last year, tech stocks boosted the Nasdaq to a 43.6% gain — its fifth best year ever. The S&P 500 rose 16.3% in 2020, and the Dow added 7.2%. Read The Big Picture for more detailed daily market analysis.
The U.S. economy is recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, after it triggered nationwide lockdowns over a year ago. But most states are relaxing restrictions, and cases are plateauing or declining in some states as vaccinations continue to roll out.
Cumulative Covid-19 cases worldwide have topped 177 million, with over 3.8 million deaths, according to Worldometer. In the U.S., cases have surpassed 34 million with more than 615,000 deaths, although the number of new cases and deaths in the U.S. has slowed dramatically in many states.
Dow Jones Movers
JPMorgan Chase, down almost 2% in heavy trade, moved further below its 50-day moving average. It's on track to extend a seven-day losing streak. JPM stock has fallen below a 161.79 buy point of a flat base, according to MarketSmith chart analysis. Last week, shares lost nearly 4%. There's no sell signal so far.
Other blue-chip losers included Home Depot, Salesforce.com and Disney, down more than 1% each.
But Chevron gained 1.8% in above-average trade. The stock is now in a five-week flat base with a 113.21 buy point. It's about 3% away from the entry.
Oil stocks got a boost as West Texas intermediate crude prices rose 1.2% to $71.76 a barrel.
American Express advanced 1%, while Boeing and Travelers added less than 1% each.
Boeing stock lifted 0.7% as it works on the handle of a cup base with a 258.50 buy point. It's about 5% away from the entry. But the jet maker's fundamentals remain weak with a 32 Composite Rating, 13 Earnings Per Share Rating and a 44 Relative Strength Rating.
The U.S. and European Union reached an agreement regarding government subsidies to Boeing and Europe's Airbus.
Outside The Dow
Retail, steel and biotech stocks led the downside among IBD's 197 industry groups. But oil and gas, homebuilders and air freight stocks advanced.
The retail sector was the worst performer as the drop in May retail sales weighed. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF fell 2% in heavy volume, though it's holding just above its 50-day line. Shares are about 5% below a 99.34 buy point of a 20-week consolidation.
Among meme stocks, DraftKings gapped down and dived 12% at the open before halving its loss. Monday's 5% drop sent the stock below its 50-day and 200-day lines. DKNG stock, which went public April 23, 2020 in a three-way merger with Diamond Eagle Acquisitions and SBTech, is now nearly 36% off its 52-week high.
Hindenburg Research, the short seller that took on electric vehicle startups Nikola and Lordstown, alleged the online gambling company's SBTech subsidiary has ties to organized crime. That fueled DKNG stock mentions on retail trading Reddit forum Wallstreetbets.
GameStop, another popular Wallstreetbets target, was down 8%.
Inside The IBD 50
Over in the IBD 50, Freedom Holding gained nearly 3% in fast turnover to extend a Friday breakout past a 58.20 buy point of a double-bottom base. The buy range goes up to 61.11. The Kazakhstan-based company provides brokerage services to clients in Central Asia, Europe and the U.S.
Pinterest and Cleveland-Cliffs added about 2% each.
But UP Fintech plunged 12% in heavy trade, while Roku, Lovesac and Corsair Gaming fell more than 3% apiece.
Follow Nancy Gondo on Twitter at @IBD_NGondo
