After two days of sizable strides forward, small-cap stocks dropped sharply while the Dow Jones Industrial Average accepted a milder loss Thursday. Yet other major indexes padded record gains. Among the winners on the stock market today was Google-parent Alphabet, up for the 11th time in the last 12 trading sessions.
According to IBD Stock Checkup, Alphabet stock earns a respectable 93 IBD Composite Rating on a scale of 1 to 99. The Composite score combines fundamental, technical and institutional ownership quality metrics into a simple score to save time in screening for stock market leaders.
In contrast to a sharp 1.4% drubbing of the Russell 2000, the Nasdaq composite gained ground, up 0.2% to extend its healthy monthly gain to nearly 3.4%. The S&P 500 added less than 0.1% yet still hit a record-high close of 6,363.
At the Nasdaq's session high of 21,113, a record peak, the tech-rich index gained 9.3% for the year. The S&P 500 recorded another all-time high in Thursday's action at 6,381. The benchmark index has climbed 32% from its early-April low of 4,835 and is up 8.4% since Jan. 1.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.7% to 44,693. It finished not far from its session low of 44,674. The S&P MidCap 400 index dropped 0.9%, snapping a two-day win streak in which it rose 2.1% cumulatively. Keep an eye out for additional earnings news after the close.
3:41 p.m. ET
Alphabet Leads Stock Market Today
Netflix — the ninth-largest company on the Nasdaq by market value and just behind electric-vehicle giant — triggered a key sell rule on the stock market today.
But investors might want to keep a sharp eye on Alphabet, another Megacap 8 name. Within that group, only Tesla lost ground. Broadcom, the seventh-largest company by market cap on the Nasdaq, bolted nearly 2% higher and made a new high of 291.20.
Shares of Alphabet, the search engine giant and Waymo self-driving taxi operator, climbed 1.3%. Volume was more than double usual levels after sound second-quarter results — earnings up 24% to $2.39 a share, revenue accelerating 14% to $96.4 billion. Analysts particularly applauded the company's strong cloud computing performance in the quarter.
While Alphabet has already trekked sharply higher from an IBD-style buy point of 181.23 within a fresh cup with handle, the stock has yet to cross back above 200, a psychologically critical price level.
Also, the stock remains 7% off its 207.05 peak. Thus, Google stock could form a new handle within its current cup pattern.
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2:49 p.m. ET
Some Dow Jones Stocks Sell Off
Within the Dow industrials, UnitedHealth Group made headlines again, this time slumping 4% on the stock market today on word of a government investigation. Besides UnitedHealth, IBM, Honeywell and Dow joined the losers' circle with sizable losses. Dow plunged 19% on earnings.
IBM reported second-quarter results. The stock got thumped with an 8% loss and cratered below its 50-day moving average. That negative action, plus the surrender of mild double-digit gains from a 266.45 breakout point, signaled recent buyers to sell the stock to cut losses.
Elsewhere, long-dated Treasury bonds moved little amid news that President Donald Trump plans an afternoon visit to the Federal Reserve offices. It would be the first visit by a U.S. president to the U.S. central bank in nearly two decades. The benchmark 10-year bond yield edged up one basis point to 4.40%.
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Netflix Keeps Dropping
Netflix eased just 0.8% to 1,167, but shares have fallen 8% over the past five trading sessions. The stock has dropped below its 50-day moving average.
Tesla, meanwhile, plunged more than 8% in volume that was running more than 40% above average over the past 50 sessions. Tesla stock, too, is now below its 50-day line.
But keep an eye on these standouts within the MarketSurge Growth 250: Bloom Energy, Oklo and Centrus Energy. These three energy sector leaders gained 24%, 12% and 5%, respectively, in Thursday's afternoon action.
Oklo is a startup-level developer of next-generation fusion nuclear energy reactors. Bloom specializes in fuel-cell power generation. And Centrus makes fuel components for the nuclear power industry.
1:18 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: A Fresh Breakout
Construction play United Rentals sparked a breakout on a positive full-year sales outlook. The equipment rental firm had been making progress since clearing a 795.30 buy point in an elongated double-bottom pattern. But in recent weeks, the large cap firm also crafted a nice, downward-slanting handle, representing a final shakeout of uncommitted shareholders.
This handle produced another valid IBD-style buy point of 826.46, or the intraday high within United Rentals stock's two-week handle. United Rentals blasted nearly 8% higher Thursday and remained nominally within the 5% buy zone.
The Stamford, Conn.-based firm reported another quarter of shrinking earnings. Profit edged 2% lower to $10.47 a share despite a 5% revenue gain to $3.93 billion. But the company also raised its full-year sales outlook.
United Rentals hosts an 80 Earnings Per Share Rating and a 74 Relative Strength Rating. They're both decent, but not great. But on a three-month basis, the RS Rating of 81 on a scale of one to 99 is definitely bullish. Watch for potential upward revisions to United's earnings, which currently are seen rising fractionally this year to $43.25 a share, then accelerating 10% to $47.66 in 2026.
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11:52 a.m. ET
Netflix Sell Rule
Returning to Netflix, the video streaming innovator fell nearly 1%, declining for the fourth time in five sessions. At the session low of 1,162.66, Netflix has now sunk as much as 5% below its 10-week moving average.
That action triggers a prominent sell rule for recent buyers, including those who purchased shares at the double-bottom breakout at 998.70 nearly four months ago.
Investors with a large profit cushion, however, could decide to stick with the leader in IBD's Leisure-Movies industry group. The weekly chart highlights the stock's resilience near or at the long-term 40-week line.
Stock Market Today: Weaker Breadth
Small caps cooled down after recent hot gains, leading the Russell 2000 down 0.7%. Trading near 2,270, the Russell remains up 1.3% for the week. On the Nasdaq, losers led winners by a 5-to-3 margin. The New York Stock Exchanged chalked up 1,756 stocks down and 1,043 issues up.
Beyond UnitedHealth's woes, money still flowed into the medical services sector. One of the day's strongest winners: West Pharmaceutical Services. The NYSE-listed large cap soared more than 21% and, at one point, hit a five-month high of 291.
However, the daily chart shows West Pharma stick licking its wounds after a 38% pounding on Feb. 13. That's when the leader in tubes and vials for drug delivery reported limp fourth-quarter results. On Thursday, the company reported improved fundamentals. Earnings jumped 21% in the June-ended quarter to $1.84 a share as revenue accelerated 9% to $766.5 million.
While West is now above the 200-day moving average, it needs more work on building the right side of a potential new base. Over the next few days or weeks, tight, rangebound trading would be positive.
Watch to see if its IBD Composite Rating, a very low 18 on a scale of one to 99, headed into the session, improves in the coming days.
10:36 a.m. ET
Meta Watch
Beyond Netflix, money continued to flow into megacap tech land. Meta Platforms remains a key giant to watch. Meta shares rallied to a seven-session high and are poised to potentially produce a new buy point.
Meanwhile, all but one of the eight largest companies on the Nasdaq drove ahead. The lone exception: Tesla stock, which skidded as much as 9% after the company reported that second-quarter earnings fell 23% with sales also dropping.
Going back to Tesla, Chief Executive Elon Musk on the earnings conference call sounded a bullish tone on the electric-vehicle giant's robotaxi plans and Optimus robot. However, he warned that with federal EV incentives going away, Tesla "could have a few rough quarters."
Meta, which reports second-quarter results in six days, has been rebounding after a nearly four-week pullback. A mini trendline from the 747.90 peak creates an aggressive potential buy point near 724-725. On Thursday, the social media behemoth traded as high as 723.62.
Please read Wednesday's IBD Big Picture for insight on how to avoid big earnings land mines as the second-quarter earnings season intensifies.
9:36 a.m. PT
Stock Market Today: Yields, ETFs
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher to 4.43%. Oil prices rose with West Texas Intermediate futures selling around $66.05 a barrel.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust gained 0.2%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF inched higher after Thursday's market open.
9:07 a.m. ET
UnitedHealth Sells Off On DOJ Probe
UnitedHealth tumbled nearly 4% Thursday morning after the company disclosed in a securities filing that it is facing a Justice Department investigation over its Medicare billing practices.
Shares of the health insurance giant closed Wednesday more than 53% off their 52-week high.
8:46 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Jobless Claims Drop
Early Thursday, the Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped to 217,000 vs. 221,000 in the previous week. They were expected to rise to 225,000.
The news could put a damper on potential interest rate cuts. The Federal Reserve has taken a wait-and-see approach to the issue, much to the chagrin of President Donald Trump.
8:05 a.m. ET
Chipotle Plunges On Earnings
Burrito maker Chipotle Mexican Grill plunged nearly 13% Thursday premarket after the company missed second-quarter sales estimates and cut its same-store sales forecast for 2025.
Earnings Movers: Alphabet, IBM, ServiceNow
Other key earnings movers Thursday included Alphabet, Honeywell, IBM, L3Harris, O'Reilly Automotive and ServiceNow.
Alphabet shares rallied 3.5%, but Honeywell stock declined more than 2%. IBM shares sold off more than 5% in morning trading. L3Harris stock jumped more than 3%, as O'Reilly shares lost 1%. And ServiceNow surged more than 7% in early morning action.
Stock Market Today: Jobless Claims, Trump Visit
Due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Labor Department's weekly jobless claims are expected to rise to 225,000. Last week, they unexpectedly dropped by 7,000 to 221,000. A strong labor market supports the Federal Reserve's wait-and-see stance on interest rate cuts.
Finally, President Donald Trump is set to visit the Fed Thursday, continuing his campaign against Chairman Jerome Powell. The visit is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market today.
