Dow Jones futures fell modestly early Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Walmart guided up after mixed results. Meta Platforms reportedly has halted AI hiring.
The stock market had another mixed session, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 falling but closing well off Wednesday's lows.
Palantir Technologies, Oracle, Micron Technology and Cameco all fell or tumbled below their 50-day lines intraday. Palantir recovered that key level by the close while Oracle edged higher, but Micron stock and Cameco didn't bounce much.
Investors should pay attention to weekly charts, which show significant damage for growth leaders.
Meanwhile, there was strength in defensive growth and defensive areas such as medicals and insurance.
The video embedded in the article reviews Wednesday's market action and analyzes Palantir, Micron, Sabra Healthcare REIT and Boston Scientific.
Will AI Replace Your Job? These Are Most At Risk.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures declined 0.4% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.4%.
The U.S. and European Union agreed on details of their trade framework, which was reached last month.
Meta has frozen AI hiring, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night, citing sources, after a high-profile, high-pay spree. That adds to hints that AI fervor is waning, a bit.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Walmart Earnings
Walmart earnings missed views, but sales topped and the Dow Jones giant raised guidance despite rising tariff costs. WMT stock fell modestly before the open, signaling a move below a buy point.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally opened with growth leaders continuing to fall, quickly knifing through their 50-day lines, with the Nasdaq down sharply until late morning. The major stock market indexes rebounded to mixed, showing resilience.
Fed minutes from the late July meeting show policymakers divided between inflation and labor market concerns as tariffs complicate the central bank's job. Fed chief Jerome Powell will give his final Jackson Hole speech on Friday morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a fraction in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.7%. The small-cap Russell 2000 declined 0.3%.
The Dow Jones is holding just below record highs. The S&P 500 and, to a lesser extent, the Russell tested the 21-day line. The Nasdaq closed just below that key level.
Palantir stock fell 1.1% Wednesday, roaring back to regain the 50-day. But shares are still down 11.9% for the week. Oracle reversed fractionally higher but is off 5.3% for the week. Meanwhile, Micron stock and Cameco gapped down 4% and 4.5%, respectively, on Wednesday.
On the defensive growth or defensive front, Boston Scientific, Allstate, Travelers, Sabra Healthcare and Adtalem Global Education flashed buy signals.
Allstate stock, Adtalem and Sabra Healthcare broke out, according to MarketSurge, while Boston Scientific cleared a trendline entry.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.4% to $63.21 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.3%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF dipped 0.1%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF edged down 0.2%, with Palantir and Oracle stock the biggest holdings. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF declined 0.7%, with Micron stock a major component.
ARK Innovation ETF fell 0.3% and ARK Genomics ETF retreated 0.9%, with PLTR stock a top-five holding across Ark Invest's ETFs.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF sank 0.4%. U.S. Global Jets ETF descended 2%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF retreated 2.15%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF climbed 0.8% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund advanced 0.5%, with Gilead and Boston Scientific stock in the ETF.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund dipped 0.1%.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF rose 0.5%, with Travelers stock and Allstate both members.
Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch
What To Do Now: Weekly Charts First
As growth leaders sold off in recent days, investors should have been scaling out to some extent. If you do nothing, the risk is that you'll finally capitulate and dump the entire position at the bottom. By selling some closer to the top, it's easier to exit the rest, or to hold onto a core position.
Sometimes you can get away with holding on through a sell-off. Shares may soon bounce back. But inevitably this path will lead to huge, crippling losses.
Use weekly charts to put Wednesday's intraday bounces in perspective. Many growth leaders like Palantir are down sharply for the week. The next move for these stocks is not at all clear.
Investors who were slow to cut exposure could have used Wednesday's bounce to exit at a higher price, though that can be hard to do.
Right now, take stock of your holdings and overall exposure. Update your exit strategies with a cool head.
Some defensive growth and defensive names are coming up, which is a mixed bag for the market. Investors can consider some buys in these areas, but overall it's not a great environment.
Definitely keep your watchlists up to date.
Palantir and Adtalem Global stock are on the IBD 50. Palantir stock is on IBD Sector Leaders. Boston Scientific was Wednesday's IBD Stock Of The Day.
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.
