The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed in early trading on Friday as indexes aimed for their third-straight day. Software firms Zscaler and DocuSign jumped double-digit percentages early Friday after strong earnings reports.
The Dow was up 1%, after dipping lower briefly. The S&P 500 held a gain of 1.2%. Tech stocks were leading the market as the Nasdaq held a 1.7% gain. The Russell 2000 advanced 1.6% as small caps performed well.
Volume was lower on the Nasdaq and higher on the NYSE compared to the same time on Thursday.
Crude oil futures continued to bounce back late this week after trading at their lowest level in several months earlier in the week. The commodity rose around 2.6% to $86.15 per barrel. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield cooled slightly to 3.26% but still continued trading around a multimonth highs.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 32100.87 | +326.35 | +1.03 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4058.02 | +51.84 | +1.29 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 12074.90 | +212.77 | +1.79 |
| Russell 2000 | 186.61 | +2.90 | +1.58 | |
| IBD 50 | 28.24 | +0.38 | +1.36 | |
Last Update: 12:00 PM ET 9/9/2022 |
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The S&P 500 climbed back above its 50-day moving average after undercutting this area of support last week.
Thursday's The Big Picture column commented, "If the market is able to mount a serious rebound, then you should have a watchlist of leading stocks that are approaching buy points. Some follow-on opportunities also may appear."
Outside Dow Jones: Growth Stocks To Watch
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF, which also fell below its 50-day moving average last week, outperformed the stock market again on Friday with a 1.3% gain.
IBD 50 leader Cross Country Healthcare was among notable breakouts among IBD 50 stocks. Shares, however, pared early gains of 7% to around 1%. The health care staffing company gapped up and broke out above a 27.87 cup-with-handle buy point before fading from the entry. Shares have captured gains of over 10% this week while the stock's relative strength line is hitting a new high.
Cross Country was among the stocks that benefited from the pandemic as demand for medical professionals soared. In 2019, the health care staffing stock reported a profit of 15 cents a share. That figure jumped to 46 cents in 2020 and $3.06 in 2021. Analysts expect earnings to rise another 53% in 2022 to $4.69 a share, according to IBD's MarketSmith.
Fertilizer maker Sociedad Quimica Y Minera also broke out above a cup-with-handle 113.80 buy point. Shares gapped up 3.7% but pared gains to around 1% while the stock's relative strength line reached a new high.
Elsewhere, several oil and gas-related firms led the upside among IBD 50 leaders including Talos Energy, SM Energy and Ovintiv. Each of these traded over 4% higher early Friday and neared a fresh cup-with-handle entries.
These Stocks Move On Earnings
Shares of Kroger rose early Friday after the country's biggest grocery store chain reported better-than-expected results on its top and bottom line. Shares gained 5.5% in heavy volume after boosting its full-year profit forecast. EPS came in at 90 cents per share, up 12% from the same period a year ago and well ahead of the analysts' estimates of 83 cents per share.
Revenue came in barely above expectations at $34.6 billion, representing a rise of 9% year over year. Kroger said it sees full-year earnings in the range of $3.95 to $4.05 per share, a 10 cent improvement from its prior guidance in June.
Cybersecurity stock Zscaler jumped more than 19% on strong earnings. The San Jose, Calif.-based firm said earnings were 25 cents a share on an adjusted basis, up 78% from 14 cents a year earlier. In the July quarter, revenue rose 61% to $318.1 million. Analysts expected Zscaler earnings of 21 cents per share on sales of $305.4 million.
Elsewhere, enterprise computer software firm DocuSign jumped 10% on better-than expected earnings but pared gains to around 8%. The electronic signature company surged after quarterly numbers beat Wall Street expectations, with EPS of 44 cents a share on revenue of $622.2 million. The stock remains in a prolonged downtrend.
