Dow Jones futures edged higher early Wednesday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Investor focus is squarely on Nvidia.
The stock market rally saw modest gains on the major indexes Tuesday, with Nvidia earnings due Wednesday night. Small caps had a solid showing. Tesla broke out past a buy point.
Meanwhile, RTX, Boeing, General Dynamics, Elbit Systems and Rocket Lab are aerospace or defense stocks in or near buy areas.
In premarket trade, cybersecurity firm Okta rose solidly and MongoDB soared on earnings.
Boeing stock and Nvidia are on Leaderboard. Tesla stock is on SwingTrader. Rocket Lab stock and Nvidia are on the IBD 50. Nvidia stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20 and IBD Sector Leaders.
The video embedded in this article reviews Tuesday's market action and analyzes Nvidia, Boeing and Elbit Systems stock.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures edged higher vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher to 4.27%.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally saw small gains on the major indexes, but they closed near session highs ahead of Nvidia's earnings. Small caps had a strong performance. Investors shrugged off President Donald Trump's move to fire Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3% in Tuesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. The small-cap Russell 2000 advanced 0.8%, just below Friday's eight-month high.
The major indexes have been pausing right at record highs over the past week or two.
Nvidia stock edged higher Tuesday, continuing to bounce from the 10-week line and back near record highs, heading into Wednesday night's earnings.
In addition to aerospace, many financials are acting well along with some travel names. Gold miners are shining, though most are extended.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 2.4% to $63.25 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield declined two basis points to 4.255%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF rose 1.3%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF dipped 0.1%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF popped 1%. Nvidia stock is the leading stock in SMH.
ARK Innovation ETF advanced 0.8% and ARK Genomics ETF climbed 0.75%. Tesla stock is the No. 1 holding across ARK Invest's ETFs.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF stepped up 0.7%. U.S. Global Jets ETF ascended 1.8%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF and Energy Select SPDR ETF dipped 0.2% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund rose 0.6%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 1%, with RTX, Boeing, General Dynamics all notable holdings.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF gained 0.8%.
Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch
Aerospace/Defense Stocks Near Buy Points
The aerospace/defense sector includes leading stocks from traditional defense giants as well as money-losing space-focused startups.
Among the giants, RTX stock topped a five-weeks-tight pattern, while General Dynamics is just past a four-weeks-tight entry. Boeing stock is just above a trendline entry in an emerging flat base after finding 10-week support.
Elbit Systems broke a trendline Tuesday as it gapped up to the cusp of a buy point in an ascending base.
RKLB stock is stretched from the 50-day line, but 49.92 could be a resistance entry in a new base. Rocket Lab had a successful launch over the weekend.
Meanwhile, defense stock Heico gapped above its 50-day line on strong earnings, according to MarketSurge, but the stock may need to forge a new base.
The Pentagon is mulling taking stakes in defense firms, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday.
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock rose 1.5% to 351.79 on Tuesday, edging past a 348.98 handle buy point. Shares jumped on Friday, breaking the downtrend of the handle, and extended gains Monday. The relative strength line for TSLA stock is well off its 52-week high, but has hit a two-month best.
Tesla late Tuesday expanded its geofence for the Austin, Texas, "robotaxi" service while adding a few more vehicles with safety monitors.
What To Do Now
Nvidia earnings and guidance could have an enormous impact on the stock market rally and especially the broad AI and AI-adjacent plays.
So investors may want to be careful about new buys, especially in the AI space, until Nvidia is in the rearview mirror.
But the stock market rally is still doing well, with the major indexes at or near record highs.
Definitely work on watchlists and exit strategies. The end of the week could be busy.
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.
