Dow Jones futures will open Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Warren Buffett said Saturday that he will step down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO at year-end. He also said trade shouldn't be a "weapon."
Palantir Technologies reports Monday in another busy week for earnings. The Federal Reserve meets Tuesday-Wednesday, with investors looking for insight into possible summer rate cuts..
The stock market rally powered higher last week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite moving above their 50-day moving averages, buoyed by Microsoft and Meta Platforms. The two big catalysts driving the market sell-off — AI hardware fears and Trump tariffs — are turning into positives, for now.
Tesla is hitting resistance but could be the cusp of an aggressive entry.
Investors should continue to add exposure gradually.
Palantir stock is on the IBD Leaderboard watchlist, as well as the IBD 50. Microsoft stock is on IBD Long-Term Leaders.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures open at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures.
OPEC+ announced a second straight monthly increase, despite tumbling prices on concerns of excess supply amid economic weakness.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Warren Buffett To Step Down
Warren Buffett, 94, said at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting that he will step down as CEO at year-end. Greg Abel, vice chairman of Berkshire's non-insurance operations, will take over that role. Abel, 62, has been Buffett's designated successor for some time.
Buffett said he has no plans to sell any Berkshire stock.
'The decision to keep every share is an economic decision because I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg's management than mine," Buffett said.
Earlier, Buffett criticized tariffs, saying, "Trade should not be a weapon."
Berkshire Earnings Fall
Berkshire earnings declined 14% to $9.64 billion on an operating basis, or $4.47 per class B share. Revenue edged down to $89.73 billion.
Wall Street expected Berkshire earnings to fall 9% to $4.72 a share on an operating basis. Revenue was seen edging up about 1% to $90.83 billion.
Berkshire cited "considerable uncertainty" related to "international trade policies and tariffs," making it hard to predict the impact on product costs, supply chains and customer demand.
Berkshire's massive cash hoard swelled to a new record of $347.68 billion from $334.2 billion at the end of 2024. The investment conglomerate was a net seller of equities for a 10th straight quarter.
BRKB stock rose 1.7% to 539.31 last week, hitting a record high Friday.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally had another big week, with the major indexes and leading stocks showing strength.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 3% in last week's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index popped 2.9%. The Nasdaq composite leaped 3.4%. The small-cap Russell 2000 ran 3.2% higher.
The Dow Jones and Russell 2000 moved above their 50-day moving averages on Friday.
The Nasdaq, S&P 500 cleared their 50-day lines on Thursday and are now nearing their 200-day averages.
With the confirmed market rally power through yet another resistance area or stall out and turn lower?
Meanwhile, leading stocks look strong. Breakouts and buy signals have been plentiful, with stocks generally extending gains.
Six Dow Jones stocks are in or near buy zones: JPMorgan Chase, Visa, Travelers Co., Boeing, Walmart and Microsoft stock. WMT stock and Boeing are in traditional buy zones. Visa stock, Travelers and JPMorgan are actionable from early entries, just below double-bottom buy points. Microsoft is near a trendline entry.
Trump Tariffs Were An Earthquake. Now The Tsunami Lands.
Market Catalysts
Microsoft and Meta beat views, guided higher and remained bullish on capital spending, with Meta upping its capex plans. That lifted a wide range of AI hardware plays, including Nvidia and Broadcom but also power producers and cooling plays.
Trump tariff headlines also continued to buoy stocks. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said there was a "done" trade deal, though he added that it wasn't actually approved by the unnamed country. Meanwhile, China said Friday that it's "evaluating" whether to accept U.S. overtures for trade talks.
Beijing is mulling ways to address President Donald Trump's concerns about the fentanyl drug trade, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources.
Despite hopeful headlines about possible trade talks or deals, U.S. port activity is plunging. That will ripple through the economy in the coming weeks, hitting consumers by midyear.
Treasury Yields, Crude Oil
The 10-year Treasury yield rose five basis points to 4.32%, thanks to Friday's nine-basis-point gain on the solid April jobs report. Investors pushed back expectations for the next Fed rate cut to July from June.
U.S. crude oil futures dived 7.5% to $58.29 a barrel last week, hitting four-year lows on Thursday.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF rose 2.6% last week. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF leaped 4.95%, with Microsoft and Palantir stock both big holdings. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF gained 3.3%.
ARK Innovation ETF advanced 1.7% last week and ARK Genomics ETF climbed 1.2%. Tesla stock is the No. 1 holding across ARK Invest's ETFs. Cathie Wood's ARK also owns a big PLTR stock stake.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF was up 1.7% last week. The Energy Select SPDR ETF fell 0.5% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund edged up 0.3%. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund popped 4.3%, with Boeing stock in XLI.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF rallied 3.6%. Berkshire stock is the No. 1 holding in XLF, with JPMorgan, Visa and Travelers also big positions.
Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Palantir Earnings
Palantir earnings are due Monday night. PLTR stock shot up 10.2% for the week to 124.8, racing up toward the top of a deep consolidation going back to Feb. 19. Shares are close to a 125.41 cup-base buy point, though they are already 36% above the 50-day line. Palantir stock is greatly extended from a 98.17 double-bottom entry.
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock rose 0.8% to 287.21 for the week after surging 18.1% in the prior week. Shares are hitting resistance at the 200-day moving average. A clear move above the 200-day, which roughly coincides with highs over the last several weeks and a long trendline, would offer an aggressive entry. There would still be a lot of overhead resistance.
Also, Tesla stock's valuation, and its post-earnings run, clearly reflects investor belief that the EV giant will achieve self-driving soon. CEO Elon Musk has pledged a pilot ride-hail effort in Austin this June. The core EV business is struggling, with earnings and sales deteriorating.
Tesla, BYD Near Buy Points, But For Very Different Reasons
What To Do Now
Investors need to pay attention to the market and respond accordingly. Right now the market rally is showing a lot of strength, both on the major indexes and leading stocks.
That's given the green light to gradually increase exposure. New buying opportunities from a variety of sectors continue to appear, while more setups are developing.
So keep working on your watchlists, looking for stocks setting up with strong relative strength.
Stay engaged and be flexible. Trump tariff headlines could once again trigger market sell-offs. Or the next batch of earnings could spur heavy losses, at least for specific stocks or sectors.
A large number of leaders beyond Berkshire Hathaway and Palantir report this coming week. TG Therapeutics DoorDash, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Uber Technologies, Axon Enterprise, Fortinet, Argenx, BellRing Brands, Carvana, MercadoLibre, Talen Energy are just a handful of the key reports.
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.
