Dow Jones futures tilted higher early Friday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, with the Fed's favorite inflation report on tap. President Donald Trump signed an order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. and announced several new tariffs.
The stock market rally fell solidly at the open, with extended growth plays tumbling. But the major indexes and growth leaders quickly came off lows.
Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, DoorDash, Snowflake and Interactive Brokers held their ground Thursday, all near buy points.
DoorDash stock and Palantir are on Leaderboard. Palantir stock is on SwingTrader and the IBD 50. Nvidia stock and Palantir are on IBD Sector Leaders.
The video embedded in the article reviews Thursday's market action and analyzes MP Materials, Futu Holdings and Palantir stock.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose 0.2% vs. fair value, amid a report that the Trump administration will ease Boeing 737 delivery restrictions. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures turned higher, with Wedbush's Dan Ives setting a new Street-high price target for Tesla.
The 10-year Treasury yield edged down to 4.16%.
At 8:30 a.m. ET, investors will get August PCE inflation data as part of the income and spending report. The Fed's favorite inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, should show a steady 2.9% year-over-year increase.
The inflation data will follow stronger-than-expected economic reports Thursday that slightly trimmed Fed rate-cut odds.
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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Trump Imposes New Tariffs, Signs TikTok Order
Later Thursday, Trump announced a slew of new tariffs. He'll slap a 100% tariff on branded and patented drugs unless pharmaceuticals companies are building plans in the U.S. Trump also will impose a 25% tariff on heavy trucks. He'll also set 50% duties on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities as well as a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture.
Meanwhile, Trump will tighten the screws on semiconductor imports. Chip manufacturers will have make the same number of semis in the U.S. as their customers import, otherwise will face a 100% tariff, The Wall Street Journal reported early Friday, citing sources.
President Trump late Thursday signed an executive order approving a deal, which China must OK, to keep TikTok operational in the U.S. Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will be the main investors in TikTok's U.S. business. Oracle will remain TikTok's U.S. cloud provider.
ORCL stock rose slightly late after skidding 5.55% in Thursday's session.
Meanwhile, Costco Wholesale reported better-than-expected earnings but U.S. same-store sales growth slowed slightly more than expected. COST stock edged lower overnight. Shares have been trending lower since early June.
Market Rallies Off Key Support; Tesla Deliveries Due
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally opened with significant losses on the major indexes, especially the Nasdaq, but they rebounded from slightly above their 21-day moving averages. The Russell 2000 briefly undercut that key level. The indexes wavered somewhat in the afternoon, closing off intraday highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.4% in Thursday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite gave up 0.5%. The small-cap Russell 2000 slumped 1%.
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF fell 0.8%, below the 21-day line and testing the 50-day. Even before Thursday, RSP hadn't made much progress in the past month, while the S&P 500 had another solid advance.
Hot stocks extended pullbacks with fierce selling to start, but they came well off lows or rebounded. Oklo tumbled 9.2%, but after diving 16% early on, briefly piercing the 10-day line. Astera Labs, down as much as 6.9%, finished off 2.3%. The AI chip leader has lost 23.6% from record highs after a five-day slide.
Celestica bounced 1.7% after tumbling below the 21-day line at the open.
The overall action in the indexes and leading stocks suggest that this has been a normal, healthy pullback for the strong stock market rally. The sharp recent retreats in huge winners, especially extended, speculative plays, was probably overdue. But they're mostly finding support as well, at least for now.
Still, it's too soon to say the pullback is over. Thursday was another down day. While the indexes found support at their 21-day lines on Thursday, in the prior session they found support at their 10-day averages.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 1 cent to $64.98 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 4.17%. The benchmark yield briefly undercut 4% as the Fed cut rates on Sept. 17.
Stocks In A Bubble? Here's What The Data Says.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF retreated 1.1%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF sank 1.15%, with Palantir stock the No. 1 holding. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF lost a fraction, with Nvidia stock the top component. ARK Innovation ETF declined 2.2% and ARK Genomics ETF fell 1.2%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF rose 1.35% to a closing high. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF slumped 1.4%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF rose 0.9% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund sank 1.7%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund shed 0.7%.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF dipped 0.2%.
Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch
Stocks Near Buy Points
Nvidia stock rose 0.4% to 177.66 after opening below the 21-day and 50-day lines, but later erasing intraday gains. The AI chip giant has a 184.48 flat-base buy point. A move above Thursday's intraday high would offer a chance to enter or add NVDA stock.
Palantir stock came off lows, closing down 0.25% to 179.12. PLTR stock has a 190 cup-base entry, with Tuesday's high of 185.75 as an early entry.
DoorDash stock edged up 0.5% to 262.08, bouncing off the 21-day line. DASH stock now has a handle on its cup base. The cup-with-handle buy point is 269.06.
Snowflake stock slipped 0.4% to 221.60, but held the 21-day line. The software maker has consolidated since the Aug. 28 earnings gap-up. Investors could use Tuesday's high of 231.49 as a trendline entry in an emerging base.
Interactive Brokers stock gained 0.8% to 64.97 after undercutting the 21-day and 50-day lines early on. IBKR stock has a shallow cup base with a 68.07 buy point, according to MarketSurge. Investors could use 66.35 as an early entry.
What To Do Now
Thursday showed how quickly perspectives can change. At the open, growth stocks were getting hammered and the indexes were starting to feel the pressure. But by late morning, the market had bounced back significantly.
Thursday's low could mark a short-term bottom or the intraday bounce might be just a blip. That may look obvious in a few days but investors have to deal with what the stock market rally is doing right now.
Stepping back, the major indexes are still holding above their 21-day lines.
Investors could have taken some partial profits in the past few days or bought some upside reversals Thursday — or both. A lot depends on exposure and concentration levels and how quick individual traders are to enter and exit.
The recent action is creating possible setups, so work on those watchlists. But if the pullback continues, especially in hot names, you'll need your exit strategies ready.
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