Dow Jones futures rose slightly Friday morning, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, with investors awaiting Fed chief Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech. Nvidia, Google and Meta Platforms were in focus overnight.
The stock market rally fell modestly Thursday amid a Walmart tumble and some pre-Powell caution. AppLovin moved back above a buy point Thursday but backed off. Palantir Technologies edged higher while Credo Technology Group had a solid gain.
Ross Stores and software makers Workday, Zoom Video and Intuit reported after the close. Ross Stores and Zoom stock rose overnight. Intuit and Workday stock fell solidly.
The video embedded in the article discusses Thursday's market action and analyzes AppLovin, JPMorgan Chase and Franco-Nevada. It also previews Powell's testimony.
AppLovin stock is on Leaderboard and SwingTrader. Palantir stock is on the IBD 50. Credo stock and Franco-Nevada are on the IBD Big Cap 20.
Tech Titan News
Nvidia has ordered a halt to H20 chip production, The Information reported Thursday night. Separately, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said his company is in talks with the U.S. to sell a new, more powerful chip to China.
NVDA stock fell slightly early Friday.
Meta Platforms has signed a six-year cloud services deal with Google parent Alphabet, The Information reported late Thursday, citing sources. Meta and Google stock tilted higher.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose 0.3% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2%. NVDA stock is a Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 component.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Powell Speech: What To Expect
Fed chief Powell will give his final annual Jackson Hole speech at 10 a.m. ET. Will Powell signal the central bank is ready to cut rates in September? The weak July jobs report and big May-June downside revisions raised market expectations of Fed cuts. But the odds of a Sept. 17 cut have dropped to 69% from a virtual lock a week earlier.
Powell likely won't push back on rate-cut expectations but may be reluctant to confirm such a move. Plenty of economic data will be out before the next Fed meeting, including the August jobs and CPI inflation reports.
Stock Market Rallies To Highs On Powell. This Is The Next Big Test.
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally saw the major indexes back off slightly in cautious action before Powell's Jackson Hole speech. Walmart's 4.5% slide also weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3% in Thursday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index retreated 0.4%, a fifth straight decline. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. The small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.2%.
The Dow Jones and Russell found support at the 21-day line. The S&P 500 fell fractionally below that short-term level while the Nasdaq failed to rise above it.
On a daily basis, the indexes are off Wednesday's lows, but are still in the lower half or third of their weekly ranges.
A strong post-Powell bounce could push the major indexes to or near record highs. A sell-off could send the Nasdaq below its 50-day average.
U.S. crude oil rose 1.3% to $63.52 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 4.33%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF climbed 1.1%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF fell 0.3%, with Palantir stock and AppLovin both members. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF declined 0.5%.
ARK Innovation ETF declined 0.4% and ARK Genomics ETF popped 1.2%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF advanced 0.5%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF retreated 0.85%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF climbed 0.7%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund and Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund slipped 0.3%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF also dipped 0.3%, with JPMorgan stock a major component.
Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch
AppLovin Stock, Palantir, Credo Tech
AppLovin stock rose 1.55% to 418.76, rebounding from the 21-day line. Shares hit 431.86 intraday, briefly topping the 428.99 buy point, according to MarketSurge. On Wednesday, shares tumbled below the early entry around 400 before closing with a fractional loss. APP is down 4.5% for the week, but in the upper half of its range.
Palantir stock edged up 0.1% to 156.18, still close to the 50-day line after holding that key level Wednesday. PLTR is still down 11.85% for the week.
Credo stock climbed 4.6%, coming up to its 21-day moving average after finding support at its 50-day/10-week line on Wednesday.
CRDO stock has still shed 5% for the week, but is in the upper half of the range.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally is in flux. The indexes are off Wednesday's lows but down for the week, especially the Nasdaq.
Growth leaders are trying to hold on or recover, while defensive growth and defensive plays are staking their claim to leadership. But that's tentative as well.
Investors taking advantage of stocks bouncing off lows could see strong gains if the rebound continues. Just be ready to take action if the market fades.
The market reaction to Powell's speech could be critical. So have your watchlists and exit strategies ready and stay engaged.
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