Nvidia climbed but the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped in Monday's mixed session as traders weighed last week's dovish pivot from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Apple was up even though Elon Musk is suing the tech icon. And a host of furniture retailers skidded on the stock market today after President Donald Trump made a tariff move.
Stocks digested gains from Friday's rally that was set off by Powell indicating policymakers may cut interest rates in September. The Dow on Monday fell 349 points, or 0.8%, after logging its first record closing high of 2025 on Friday.
Merck paced the laggards Monday with a drop of more than 2%. Nvidia, which got some upgrades ahead of earnings this week, fared best with a gain of 1%. Meanwhile, Bill Ackman stock Nike also outperformed with a lift of 1%.
The Nasdaq composite tried to cling to narrow gains up until the final hour of trading but ended up losing 0.2% at the close. AppLovin and Tesla both performed solidly here, rising roughly 2% each. The S&P 500 finished the day near session lows, falling 0.4%.
Outside Dow Jones Index: Small Caps Lag
The benchmark S&P 500's sectors were mixed, with a downside bias, on the stock market today. Communication services and technology set the pace for advancing groups, while consumer staples and health care declined the most.
Volume was lower on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq compared with Friday, according to early data. Breadth was negative, though, with decliners outpacing advancers almost 2-to-1 on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq.
Small caps also struggled, with the Russell 2000 index down 1%. Growth stocks were off highs, as the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund finished a shade lower. The fund's gain for 2025 now comes in at just over 19%.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 4.28%. Oil prices climbed nearly 2%, pushing West Texas intermediate futures near $64.80 a barrel.
Cathie Wood Buys This Stock Amid 24% Plunge
The big beasts of Wall Street were on the prowl Friday, and that included ARK Invest Chief Executive Cathie Wood. Her firm, where she also serves as chief investment officer, snapped up 10,150 shares in PagerDuty.
As is Wood's wont, the stock is well off 12-month highs. At Friday's close it was down about 24% on its 12-month high of 21.98.
However, the move did not pay off on the stock market today, as it fell more than 2%. It is down more than 10% so far in 2025 and remains stuck below its 200-day moving average, a bearish look.
Overall performance is also far from ideal, with its IBD Composite Rating sitting in at 64 out of 99. Earnings are expected to rise 14% this year before slowing to 16% growth in 2026.
A trio of former Amazon.com software developers founded PagerDuty in 2009. The company's cloud-based platform provides "incident response" support for applications being deployed by information technology departments. Further, PagerDuty uses Amazon's cloud computing infrastructure to run its software platform.
PagerDuty's rivals include Atlassian and Splunk.
3:43 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Gold Stock Tests Entry
Gold has been a big winner so far in 2025, with many precious metals play turning in excellent gains. And DRDGold shined as it tested a buy point.
DRDGold is a precious metals miner based in South Africa. It sells both gold and silver bullion. Shares surged more than 3%, trading in a buy zone above a consolidation entry of 17.60, according to MarketSurge analysis. This is a midstage pattern.
Overall performance is top-notch, with its IBD Composite Rating coming in at a best-possible 99. Earnings are seen rising 27% this year before accelerating to 31% growth in 2026.
The stock has been on a tremendous run in 2025, rising by around 107%. However, the fact institutional ownership is relatively low, with 20% of shares being held by funds is a reason for caution.
2:57 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Apple Shrugs Off Elon Musk AI Move
Apple stock was turning in a gain on the stock market today despite being hit with a new lawsuit. Elon Musk-led companies xAI and its sister business X, formerly Twitter, are taking aim at both Apple and rival artificial intelligence player OpenAI.
The lawsuit claims that the iPhone maker has joined forces with the Sam Altman-led company in a "desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly," according to The Wall Street Journal.
The lawsuit alleges the partnership makes ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot that "benefits from billions of user prompts originating from hundreds of millions of iPhones." It also claims that Apple, a leading Dow Jones index company, deprioritizes chatbot apps that are rivals to OpenAI in its App Store rankings.
Apple has yet to comment on the legal action. However, an OpenAI spokesman told The Wall Street Journal the filing "is consistent with Mr. Musk's ongoing pattern of harassment" against the company.
Apple stock was up less than 1%. However, it is trading above its major moving averages as well as its 21-day line. It holds an IBD Composite Rating of 82, with price performance being its weakest attribute at the moment.
1:43 p.m. ET
RH Whacked On Trump Furniture Move
Several furniture stocks were under pressure Monday following Trump's announcement that he is launching an investigation into tariffs on furniture imports. Trump boasted on Truth Social Friday that the move "will bring the Furniture Business back to North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, and States all across the Union." He also promised that the tariff investigation will be completed within the next 50 days.
RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, was off Monday's lows but remained down around 5%. It is getting support at the 21-day exponential moving average.
The company sources much of its goods in Asia. However, it has been working to address the issue and has moved some production to a factory in North Carolina.
Wayfair also climbed off lows but remained down nearly 5%. But support has emerged at the 21-day line, MarketSurge analysis shows. Williams-Sonoma, which also has Asia exposure in its supply chain, fell around 2%.
Further, Ethan Allen Interiors, which makes about three-quarters of its furniture in North America, rose nearly 2%. It tested an early entry of 31 but is back below this level.
Another reason for caution: Ethan Allen has an IBD Composite Rating of just 50 out of 99. This reflects mediocre all-around performance.
12:11 p.m. ET
Bitcoin ETF Flashes Sell Signal As Crypto Falls
One asset class that was having a tough early inning on Monday was bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is down more than 2% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange traded fund fared worse, falling nearly 4% on the stock market today.
It lost its place on the IBD Leaderboard list of top stocks after it undercut the 50-day moving average in above-average volume.
Cryptocurrency exchange play Coinbase Global came off lows, but remained down almost 2%. It lost further ground on its 50-day moving average, according to MarketSurge analysis. It remains up nearly 27% so far this year.
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, dropped nearly 3%. It is trading tightly below its short-term moving averages. It fell back after hitting resistance at its 200-day moving averages Friday. It is also down nearly 24% from recent highs.
Bitcoin miner Hut 8, previously a member of the IBD 50 list of leading growth stocks, fell nearly 2%. However, it has been finding support at its 21-day exponential average of late
Rival mining play Riot Platforms dropped nearly 2% while Mara, formerly known as Marathon Digital, swooned nearly 5%.
Home Sales Beat Expectations Despite Dip
New home sales dropped 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 652,000 units in July, the Census Bureau reported Monday.
This was well clear of the 628,000 expected by analysts, according to Econoday.
It is also worth noting that the prior month's reading was adjusted sharply upward. It now comes in at an annualized rate of 656,000, vs. the prior reported level of 627,000.
10:53 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Dr Pepper Spills On Peet's Move
One stock that was under pressure in early action was Keurig Dr Pepper. It dived on news it is to acquire JDE Peet's in an $18 billion all-cash deal.
After the deal closes, Keurig Dr Pepper expects to split into two companies, one focused on coffee and the other focused on soft drinks.
The stock flashed multiple sell signals, gapping below both its 50-day moving average and its 200-day line. It fell around 8% in recent trade.
It is on track for its biggest percent decrease since March 16, 2020, when it fell 16.49%, according to Dow Jones data. By contrast, the over-the-counter JDE Peet's stock, which trades under the ticker JDEPY, rocketed more than 16%.
The deal unwinds the 2018 merger of Keurig and Dr Pepper, which was valued at around $19 billion. At the time it was the largest soft drink deal ever.
Keurig Dr Pepper's Chief Executive Tim Cofer will lead the soft drink company while Chief Financial Officer Sudhanshu Priyadarshi will take charge of the coffee component.
9:49 a.m. ET
Nasdaq-100 Winners, Losers: Intel, Keurig Dr Pepper, Strategy
Among the Nasdaq-100 index stocks, Intel jumped 2% after the U.S. took a 10% stake in the troubled chipmaker — hoping to shore up a viable U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer.
On the downside, Keurig Dr Pepper tumbled 8% after agreeing to buy Peet's Coffee for $18 billion in cash. Bitcoin play Strategy sold off 4.2% in early morning action.
8:53 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Movers: Amazon, Apple, Home Depot, UnitedHealth
Inside the blue chip Dow industrials, Amazon.com, Apple and Home Depot led the index lower in premarket trading. Amazon stock dropped 0.7%, while Apple shares lost 0.5%. Home Depot moved down 0.4%.
On the upside, UnitedHealth Group climbed 0.4%, looking to extend a win streak to three sessions.
8:13 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Palantir Stock Slides
Palantir stock declined 1.5% Monday premarket, threatening to snap a two-day win streak. Shares are trying to find support around their 50-day moving average, a key support level to watch.
Last week, Palantir briefly sliced through that level during a six-day losing streak that saw the stock fall as much as 25% from its 52-week high.
Earnings Movers: PDD
Chinese stock PDD surged nearly 6% after the Temu parent reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and sales results.
Later this week, apparel makers and retailers continue to report their earnings results. PVH, Abercrombie & Fitch, Kohl's, Urban Outfitters and Guess all report. Meanwhile, dollar stores Five Below, Dollar General and Ollie's Bargain Outlet will report Wednesday.
Stock Market Today: Nvidia Earnings, Inflation Data Loom
Artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia will report its fiscal second-quarter results late Wednesday. Analysts expect adjusted earnings of $1.01 a share, up 48% year over year, on sales of $45.9 billion, up 53%.
Wall Street will focus on the resumption of AI chip sales to China and the outlook for cloud capex spending amid concerns that companies aren't seeing a return on investment for artificial intelligence applications. Investors will also look for details on the new H20 chip for China and on the revenue-sharing deal notched with the Trump administration.
The Federal Reserve's primary inflation rate, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, headlines the coming week's economic calendar. Out Friday, inside the Commerce Department's personal income and outlays data, economists expect the 12-month core inflation rate to rise to 2.9% in July from 2.8% in June.
Incoming data is unlikely to derail a Sept. 17 Fed rate cut, but hot inflation could depress rate-hike expectations beyond September.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
Also, 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.
