Dow Jones futures were little changed early Wednesday, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures edged lower Target, Lowe's and Toll Brothers were earnings movers.
The stock market rally technically was mixed Tuesday, with the Dow eking out a tiny gain. The Nasdaq skidded as high-octane growth names tumbled, including Palantir Technologies, Credo Technology, AppLovin, as well as GE Vernova, Oracle, Advanced Micro Devices.
Palantir and most of these names continued to slide early Wednesday.
Investors should be looking to reduce exposure, especially in growth plays.
AppLovin stock, Palantir and GE Vernova are on Leaderboard. Palantir stock is on the IBD 50. Credo stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20. Palantir and Insulet stock are on IBD Sector Leaders.
The video embedded in the article reviews Tuesday's market losses and analyzes Palantir stock, Insulet and Micron Technology. Insulet was Tuesday's IBD Stock Of The Day.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures were even vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures edged lower. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%.
Crude oil futures climbed more than 1%.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Key Earnings
Toll Brothers narrowly topped fiscal Q3 views after the close but delivery guidance was light. TOL stock fell modestly early Wednesday. The luxury builder, like other housing stocks, had rebounded back above its 200-day line in recent weeks on hopes for Fed rate cuts.
Lowe's topped views before the open, though it gave mixed guidance. It also will buy interior building products distributor Foundation Building Materials for $8.8 billion cash. Shares rose modestly in premarket action after rising 2.2% Tuesday amid Home Depot earnings.
Target narrowly topped Q2 views and reaffirmed guidance. The discount giant also named COO Michael Fiddelke as its next CEO, succeeding Brian Cornell on Feb. 1. Target stock plunged. Walmart earnings are due Thursday morning.
TJX Cos.TJX modestly beat quarterly views. Shares of the off-price retailer rose solidly before the open, signaling a cup-base breakout.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally mostly retreated Tuesday, with the selling concentrated in growth leaders.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a fraction in Tuesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index gave up 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 1.5%. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.8%.
Growth stocks, especially highly valued names, dragged the market down.
Palantir dived 9.35% on Tuesday and Credo plunged 10.5%, both well below their 21-day lines. AppLovin stock tumbled 5.9%, just holding the 21-day but below the buy point. Oracle stock slumped 5.8%, below its 21-day line and just undercutting the 10-week. GE Vernova gave up 3.5% and AMD stock retreated 5.4%, but below their 21-day lines.
Palantir fell modestly in Wednesday's premarket trade, with Credo, AMD and others also retreating slightly.
On the plus side, homebuilders, some medicals and retail names are doing well, with financials and travel names generally holding recent gains.
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF actually rose 0.5%.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 1.7% to $62.35 a barrel, the lowest close since May 30.
The 10-year Treasury yield declined four basis points to 4.30%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF dived 4.5%, closing below the 21-day line for the first time since the April 22 follow-through day. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF shed 2.6%, now decisively below the 50-day line. Palantir and Oracle stock are IGV's two biggest positions with AppLovin also in the ETF. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF retreated 2%, with AMD and Micron stock major components.
ARK Innovation ETF sold off 4% and ARK Genomics ETF lost 3.5%. Palantir stock is a top-five holding across ARK Invest's ETFs.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF dropped 2.1%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF gained 1.5%, with Toll Brothers stock a member. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund advanced 0.6%, with PODD stock a small holding.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund and the Financial Select SPDR ETF climbed 0.2%.
Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch
What To Do Now
When the market — or your stocks — are selling off broadly, take some action. Swing traders may want to slash exposure, especially to growth names. For position trades with big gains, investors should have a strategy to scale out if winners break below key levels.
That's especially true if you're concentrated in a specific stock or theme. Someone owning 10% positions in Palantir, Credo, Oracle and AMD — or similar names — saw heavy portfolio losses.
If you take at least partial profits, you'll preserve some gains. Either the stock rebounds and you still have a core position, or it's easier to exit completely if the selling continues.
Of course, be quick to cut losing stocks and those round-tripping gains.
So have your exit strategies ready, and follow them. Pay attention to watchlists. The pullback in growth leaders could generate new buying opportunities, while a number of other sectors are showing strength.
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.
