Indexes regained a portion of Wednesday's losses, as they sought to hold technical levels. The IBD 50 outperformed the stock market as one of its stocks, Air Transport Services Group, broke out to new highs.
The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5% and the S&P 500 0.6%. Small caps lagged; the Russell 2000 rose only 0.1%. The Nasdaq is holding above its 50-day moving average, while the S&P 500 is right at the 200-day line.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%. Intel climbed more than 3%. Apple rose 1.1% as it continues moving closer to the 176.75 buy point of a double-bottom base. But another tech stock, Cisco Systems, had the Dow's largest loss, down 1%.
Volume fell on the NYSE and Nasdaq compared with the same time on Wednesday.
Oil Prices Ease; BHP Breaks Out
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 34535.56 | +177.06 | +0.52 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4483.33 | +27.09 | +0.61 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 13997.80 | +75.20 | +0.54 |
| Russell 2000 | 204.21 | +0.31 | +0.15 | |
| IBD 50 | 39.47 | +0.55 | +1.41 | |
Last Update: 10:10 AM ET 3/24/2022 |
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The stock market continues to keep a wary eye on commodities. The price of U.S. crude oil eased 0.8% to $113.95 a barrel. Gold, silver and copper rose. Agricultural commodities such as wheat and corn fell.
Australia-based mining company BHP Group rose above the 73.68 buy point of a large cup with handle. Volume was running at more than double its average pace.
There was some movement in electric vehicle stocks.
Nikola pared gains to 12% after rising as much as 19%. The company said it has begun production of its commercial truck at its Arizona factory. The stock has a long climb ahead after plummeting from an all-time high of 93.99 to February's low of 6.41. Two years ago, Nikola was one of the hottest stocks, soaring 785% from March 2020 to its June 2020 peak.
Nio fell 2% ahead of its earnings report. The Chinese EV startup is reporting fourth-quarter results later today. Analysts expect Nio to lose 14 cents per American depositary receipt vs. a loss of 16 cents a year ago. Revenue is expected to jump 50% to $1.535 billion.
Stock Market Movers: Tesla, Air Transport Services
Tesla added 1.2% and is on track for an eighth consecutive gain. It's also on pace for a second straight week of 10%-plus gains.
Uber Technologies rose 3.7% after the company said it will list all New York City taxis on its app. The Wall Street Journal said the agreement may ease Uber's driver shortage and direct more business to cabdrivers. Ride-sharing apps have hurt the taxi business.
Innovator IBD 50 ETF climbed 0.8%.
Aviation holding company Air Transport Services Group led the index with a gap up that took the stock above the 32.83 buy point of a three-weeks-tight pattern. Air Transport Services, which was discussed in IBD 50 Stocks to Watch Wednesday, leases cargo jets. Its customers include Amazon.com's Prime fast-shipping service.
In economic reports, jobless claims last week fell to 187,000 from 215,000 the previous week. Economists had forecast 210,000 new claims.
Orders for durable goods fell 2.2% in February. The decline was worse than estimates for a 0.5% drop and a slowdown from the 1.6% increase the previous month.
Despite the decline from the previous month, durable goods orders are still showing positive momentum on an absolute basis with the economy well above pre-pandemic highs, said Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network.
"Also, the decline was largely attributed to transportation equipment including motor vehicles and aircraft, areas that experienced notable declines," he added in a commentary.
