The Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed lower Thursday, as Wall Street reacted to a key inflation report ahead of the opening bell. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence stock leader Snowflake crumbled after reporting earnings on the stock market today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% in morning action, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2%. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6% after the opening bell.
Among U.S. exchange traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust exchange traded fund was up 0.6%, as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF rose 0.2%.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower to 4.22%. Further, oil prices continue to hover around their recent highs, as West Texas Intermediate futures edged higher, hovering around $78.90 a barrel.
Stock Market Today: Inflation Data, Earnings
The personal income and spending report for January came out Thursday morning. More important are the numbers highlighting personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, that mark current inflation.
The PCE price index rose 0.3% in January, with an annual increase of 2.4%, in line with Wall Street's estimates. The core PCE price index climbed 0.4% on the month, with a year-over-year increase of 2.8%. Both matched Econoday estimates.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department's initial unemployment claims jumped to 215,000 vs. 201,000 in the previous week. They were expected to rise to 210,000.
Software leader Snowflake plunged more than 19% Thursday morning after the company's revenue outlook for fiscal 2025 came in well below expectations. Meanwhile, the company also announced Chief Executive Frank Slootman, will retire.
Other key earnings movers included Best Buy, Dow Jones stock Salesforce, Birkenstock, DoubleVerify and C3.ai.
Best Buy shares rallied 5.5%, while Salesforce shares inched up. Birkenstock tumbled 6.7% in morning action, as DoubleVerify plummeted more than 15%. And C3.ai shares soared more than 24% in morning action.
Dow Jones Falls
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, as the S&P 500 dropped 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.55%.
Wednesday's Big Picture column commented, "In the meantime, as touched upon during investor Mark Minervini's special guest appearance on Wednesday's "IBD Live" episode, IBD readers may want to be extra careful in buying the latest stock market breakouts. Why? The bigger movers lately do not have first-class fundamentals and other characteristics commonly found among the biggest winners."
Now is an important time to read IBD's The Big Picture column amid the continuing stock market rally. Be sure to read how to adjust to changing market conditions, with IBD's new exposure levels.
Learn How To Time The Stock Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy
Best Stocks To Buy And Watch In Stock Market Today
Advanced Micro Devices, SharkNinja, Toll Brothers and Weatherford — plus Dow Jones components Disney, Dow and Procter & Gamble — are among the best stocks to buy and watch on the stock market today.
Disney and Weatherford were featured in this Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
A great resource for daily breakouts is IBD MarketSmith's "Breaking Out Today" list. It shows MarketSmith Growth 250 stocks that are breaking out past new buy points. There were two breakouts Wednesday, including Veeva Systems, which broke out past a 225.49 cup-base entry.
Meanwhile, the MarketSmith "Near Pivot" list shows stocks nearing buy points in bases, like TechnipFMC, which is approaching a 22.78 cup entry.
Get Real-Time Buy And Sell Alerts On Stock Market Leaders With IBD Leaderboard
Dow Jones Stocks: Disney Eyes Buy Point
Disney is forming a big cup-with-handle base with a 112.92 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Shares are trading about 2% below the new buy point. Disney stock added 0.6% on the stock market today.
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble rebounded 0.5% Wednesday, still in buy range above a 158.38 buy point in a cup base. P&G stock dipped 0.2% early Thursday.
Chemicals giant Dow gave up a 55.90 buy point in a flat base following a 2.1% drop Wednesday. Dow shares edged up Thursday.
4 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Rally
AMD Eyes Buy Point
As Wednesday's IBD Stock Of The Day, Advanced Micro Devices is building a flat base with a 184.92 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith. Shares were up 2.4% Thursday morning.
Homebuilder Toll Brothers is out of its buy range above a flat base's 105.91 buy point. Toll Brothers stock rose 1.1% Thursday morning.
Recent IBD Stock Of The Day, SharkNinja, is above a flat base's 53.40 buy point. The buy zone runs up to 56.07. And the stock was up 2.2% Thursday.
Oil stock Weatherford remains in buy range above a 102.65 buy point in a cup base. The 5% buy range tops out at 107.78. The stock was up 1.3% early Thursday.
Best Bets On Stock Market Today
These are four best stocks to watch in today's stock market, including a Dow Jones leader.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Buy Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 105.69 | Flat base | |
| Merck | 119.65 | Cup base | |
| DraftKings | 39.35 | Cup base | |
| Spotify | 202.88 | Flat base |
Source: IBD Data As Of Feb. 12, 2024
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Magnificent Seven Stock: Nvidia, Tesla
Among Magnificent Seven stocks, Nvidia rose 2.2% and Tesla was down 0.2% Thursday.
Nvidia shares continue to hold just off last week's record highs. They closed more than 50% past a 505.48 buy point in a flat base after a Jan. 8 breakout move.
Tesla extended a win streak to three sessions Wednesday, still rebounding from its recent lows.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks in the Magnificent Seven, Apple and Microsoft traded higher after Thursday's stock market open.
Apple is forming a flat base with a buy point at 199.62. But Apple stock must first retake the key 50-day moving average, as it searches for support around its long-term 200-day line. Shares were up 0.1% Thursday.
Microsoft shares remain out of buy range past a 384.30 buy point in a flat base, amid a 0.1% rise Wednesday. The software giant rose 0.2% on the stock market today.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market today.
