Dow Jones futures were little changed early Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. China will tighten exports of rare earths, with implications for the global economy and U.S. trade talks, while lifting rare earths companies.
Nvidia chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor reported strong September sales before the open while Delta Air Lines beat earnings views.
The stock market was generally strong Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting fresh highs on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's bullish AI comments.
Nvidia stock rose in a buy zone. Rival Broadcom flashed an aggressive entry while Advanced Micro Devices surged to a record high and Taiwan Semiconductor grew more extended. Quanta Services, Snowflake and CrowdStrike were other AI stocks flashing buy signals.
Tesla has a new buy point, but fell early Thursday on an FSD probe.
The video embedded in the article reviews Wednesday's market action and analyzes Quanta Services stock, CrowdStrike and Figure Technology Solutions.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures were just above fair value. S&P 500 futures tilted higher and Nasdaq 100 futures lost a fraction.
Crude oil futures fell slightly.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Overnight News
China will restrict rare earth exports to include items manufactured abroad.. That could affect many tech industries and military applications, while raising U.S.-China trade tensions. U.S. rare-earths firm MP Materials was solidly higher before the open, while USA Rare Earth surged.
Taiwan Semiconductor's September sales swelled 31.4% vs. a year earlier in local currency to 330.98 billion Taiwanese dollars ($10.84 billion), well above estimates. For Q3, Taiwan Semi revenue appeared to total $32.44 billion, slightly above consensus. Taiwan Semi stock, which has rallied in recent weeks to record highs, edged lower in premarket trade.
Delta Air beat earnings views and gave bullish Q4 guidance. Delta stock rose solidly before the open, signaling a move above the 50-day line and perhaps offering an early entry within a flat base.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally rebounded on Nvidia CEO Huang's comments after taking Tuesday's negative Oracle report in stride. Rallying on good news, resilient on bad is a bullish sign.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell one point in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite popped 1.1%, both hitting record highs yet again. The small-cap Russell 2000 advanced 1%.
AI, biotech and mining stocks led Wednesday, but advancers easily beat decliners overall.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.3% to $62.55 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield was flat at 4.13%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF ran up 3.35%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF climbed 1.2%, with CrowdStrike a significant position. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF gained 2.7%, with Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor and AMD stock all big holdings.
ARK Innovation ETF popped 3.8% and ARK Genomics ETF surged 6.9%. Tesla stock is still the No. 1 position across ARK Invest's ETFs.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF churned out a 3.3% gain. U.S. Global Jets ETF ascended 0.6%, with Delta stock a big holding.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund rallied 0.9%, with Quanta Services stock and Delta Air in XLI. The Financial Select SPDR ETF retreated 0.5%.
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Nvidia
Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang told CNBC's Squawk Box Wednesday that demand for artificial intelligence computing power is up "substantially" in the last six months. "Demand for Blackwell is really, really high."
Nvidia stock climbed 2.2% on Wednesdayto 189.11, still in range of a 184.48 flat-base buy point.
AMD stock jumped 11.4% to 235.56, hitting a record high. Shares are now up 43% for the week on a big OpenAI deal.
Broadcom stock climbed 2.7% to 345.50, above the 21-day line after testing the 10-week line on Tuesday. AVGO stock is just above a downward-sloping trendline, but investors also could use the Oct. 2 high of 347.61 as another early entry in an emerging base.
Nvidia and AMD rose slightly before the open while Broadcom edged lower.
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Other AI Stocks In Buy Zones
Quanta Services stock bolted 5.2% on Wednesday 443.45, back above a 424.94 cup-base buy point. The heavy construction firm is an AI infrastructure play.
CrowdStrike stock popped 5.2% to 509.95, breaking above a 507.20 cup-with-handle buy point after finding support at the 21-day line on Tuesday.
Snowflake stock jumped 6.6% on Wednesday to 250.21, just topping a 249.99 flat-base buy point, according to MarketSurge.
Tesla Stock Has New Buy Point
Tesla stock fell more than 1% early Thursday as safety regulators announce a new probe of Full Self-Driving.
Shares rose 1.3% on Wednesday to 438.69, after some big swings on news over the past week. The EV giant now has a 470.75 handle buy point on a base going back to the end of 2024. Arguably, a deeper handle that undercuts the 21-day line and the Oct. 3 low would be constructive.
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What To Do Now
The stock market rally continues to act well. The major indexes are at or near highs but not extended. Leading stocks are acting well, with CrowdStrike, Quanta Services and Snowflake among several new buying opportunities.
Investors can look to add exposure or replace laggards. So work on watchlists. But don't assume the market — and your stocks — will trade steadily higher. Stay engaged and flexible.
Quanta Services stock, Snowflake and Broadcom are on Leaderboard, with Tesla on the Leaderboard watchlist. CrowdStrike stock, Broadcom and Nvidia are on SwingTrader. Taiwan Semiconductor stock and Nvidia are on the IBD 50. Nvidia stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
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