The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes accelerated their solid gains as they finished trading Thursday. The S&P 500 neared a record high, as the economy contracted more than expected and weekly jobless claims came in below forecasts. Meanwhile, Nvidia rallied for a fourth straight session to another record high on the stock market today.
In late-afternoon trading Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average held on to most of the session's gains and rose 0.9%, or 404 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 1%, near session highs, placing the key index for growth stocks firmly back above the 20,000 mark. The Nasdaq 100 was up 0.9%.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, and ended the day at 6,141, just short of its all-time high of 6,147.43 set on Feb. 19. And small caps outperformed, with the Russell 2000 up 1.4%. The Russell was still down 2.6% for the year.
Nvidia shares were up as much as 1.5% before cooling off to a gain of 0.5% at the close. In the process, the leader in artificial intelligence chips saw its market cap rise to $3.8 trillion. It has 24.5 billion shares outstanding. Nvidia appeared to benefit from strong quarterly results by memory-chip maker Micron Technology.
Nvidia's strength underscored strong gains by chip firms in general over the past four weeks. The VanEck Semiconductor exchange traded fund, up 0.7% at the close, has shot nearly 16% higher for the month of June after sailing ahead by more than 13% in May. The exchange traded fund is homing in on an all-time high of 283.07 set in July last year.
Nova: Bright Light In The Semiconductor Galaxy
Nova, shined brightly within the semiconductor equipment space. The midcap growth stock ran more than 5% higher and hit a session high of 271.10, set to mark its highest close since Feb. 20. Shares now lie just 7% off a 289.90 buy point within a five-month cup without handle.
The Israeli specialist in process control for chip manufacturing has been rallying sharply ever since it reported results on May 8. Earnings grew 57% vs. a year ago to $2.18 a share as sales picked up steam, rising 50% to $213.4 million.
That marked a fifth quarter in a row of top-line growth acceleration. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Nova's sales sank 11%, but then turned 7% higher in the first quarter of 2024 and rose 28%, 39%, 45% and 50% vs. year-ago levels over the next four quarters.
No surprise, then, that Nova also gets a top-class A grade measuring its sales, profit margins and return on equity, according to Investor's Business Daily Stock Checkup.
Nova made the upside portion of IBD Stocks On The Move. It has 29.1 million shares outstanding and a market cap of $7.8 billion.
2:52 p.m. ET
Don't Forget These Consumer Plays
Shake Shack is emerging as a potential new leader in the stock market today.
The New York-based chain of gourmet-style burgers and shakes in a fast-casual setting bolted more than 3% higher and led all stocks in the Leaderboard model growth stock portfolio. Shake Shack has already rallied nicely since it cleared a 131.38 cup-with-handle buy point. But now it's trying to surpass the large cup base's left-side high of 139.89.
Watch to see how Shake Shack handles upside resistance near 140, where disgruntled shareholders who bought the stock ahead of its deep dive from January to early April are eager to sell their shares to cut losses or break even.
The company has agreed to open up shop at 10 properties operated by Penn Entertainment, the casino chain, including the Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio, and the River City Casino Hotel in St. Louis. In its 21st year of operation, Shake Shack has expanded to 590 locations across the world, including 380 in 34 U.S. states and shops in London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mexico City, Dubai, Tokyo and Seoul.
IBD's Big Picture: After Operation "Midnight Hammer," This Sector Gets Hammered
IBD's Retail-Restaurants industry group ranks 48th among 197 groups for six-month price-weighted performance, according to MarketSurge. In addition to Shake Shack, at least 10 other stocks hold a tasty Relative Strength Rating of 90 or higher on a scale of 1 to 99.
They include Chili's chain operator Brinker International, coffeehouse chain Dutch Bros, Potbelly and Cheesecake Factory. This means these stocks are outperforming at least 90% of all companies in the IBD database on a 12-month basis.
Strong stocks, per IBD research, are already outperforming their peers before they break out to new highs and go on hefty price runs, enriching investors.
IBD Stock Of The Day, Another Consumer Stock, Trounces AI Leaders With Plush Gains
1:56 p.m. ET
Few Industry Groups Fall
Among IBD's 197 industry groups tracked each day, just four groups fell 1% or more. They included integrated telecom services, down 1.2%; financial software, off 1.1%; and document management, 1.9% lower. The fourth group, retail office supplies, is a tiny sector.
The groups' performance is price-weighted. Hence, Fair Isaac had a disproportionately large impact on the financial software industry group's drop. The credit rating giant fell 77 points, or 4%, and marked a session low of 1,780.
The stock collapsed over a five-day sell-off that began on May 20, not long after Fair Isaac posted solid first-quarter results — with per-share earnings up 27% and revenue 15% higher. The stock still trades below its 50-day line and 200-day moving average, a sign of technical weakness.
The entire daily performance of all 197 industry groups can be monitored at IBD Data Tables. Generally, true leaders in the stock market today will hail from the groups ranking in the top 40 for six-month relative price performance.
Stock Market Outlook For The Next 6 Months: Eye These Risks
1:11 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Banks Shine
Helping fuel a positive day for the 30-stock Dow Jones industrials was JPMorgan Chase, which rose nearly five points, or 1.8%, and notched a new high of 289.09. The money center bank is up for a sixth straight session and has landed a 20% gain for the year so far.
JPMorgan, currently a full-size position on Leaderboard, has also risen more than 13% after breaking out of a textbook double-bottom base. The key IBD chart pattern produced a correct buy point at 254.67. The megacap bank doodled around that price for days after poking meekly above it on May 5. But then shares really took off on May 12, following news that President Donald Trump agreed to give China extra time for negotiations on a trade deal before devastating triple-digit tariffs take place as soon as early August.
JPMorgan stock also formed a handle on its double bottom, creating an extra buy point at 269.52. That gave chart readers a second buy opportunity. Yet, IBD rules on buying clearly state that one should not chase any stock more than 5% past a proper entry.
Related stocks also rose bullishly.
Capital One Financial advanced 1.4%, beating the major averages, as the stock recently climbed back above a 204.48 buy point in a cup with handle. The stock holds a 92 IBD Composite Rating on a scale of 1 to 99. In general, stronger stocks have at least a 90 Composite Rating or higher.
The SPDR S&P Regional Banking exchange traded fund rose 1.5% and made an intraday high of 59.10. The ETF is still below its flatlining 200-day moving average. A big move about that key technical level would be bullish for the stock market today.
12:18 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: This IPO Crumbles
While the market for initial public offerings has heated up considerably since May, Hinge Health struggled on Thursday. Shares fell for a second straight day and sank nearly 4%. At the session low, the medical software firm fell further below a 43.80 proper buy point within a narrow IPO base.
Hinge, which creates software to automate care for patients with joint and muscle conditions, went public on the New York Stock Exchange at $32 a share. After its May 22 debut on the NYSE, the stock rallied three straight days, then settled into a relatively shallow correction in which the stock fell from 43.80 to 33.42. That 24% decline falls within the normal parameters for Investor's Business Daily-style base patterns.
On a daily chart, Hinge then cleared the base at 43.80 on Monday and rallied hard the next session. But as of Thursday, the stock has given up an 11.5% advance from the 43.80 pivot point and more.
Trading near 42.52, Hinge has fallen mildly below the buy point. Those who bought shares at 43.80 should respect the golden rule of IBD-style investing, which is to keep losses in every stock limited at 7% to 8% or less.
The company has grown sales at 29%, 24%, 44% and 50% vs. year-ago levels in the past four quarters. Hinge turned a profit in the third quarter of 2024, earning a penny a share, then posted a net profit of 35 cents a share and 22 cents a share in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of this year vs. big net losses in the year-earlier periods.
11:44 a.m. ET
One Company To Watch
Among stocks leading in the MarketSurge Growth 250, Astera Labs perhaps deserves close monitoring.
A huge winner during the second half of 2024, the specialist in networking technology to improve the speed of data within data centers driven by artificial intelligence rallied as much as 7% and hit a session high 97.29. The stock has struggled to make further headway since crossing above 100 several times in the past month and a half. But a new deep base is building, and Astera is now back above key moving averages, including the 21-day exponential moving average.
Astera, which sports a 92 Relative Strength Rating, is the fifth-biggest gainer within IBD's Growth 250 stock list. A strong move past 100 would institute an aggressive buy point. Note that the large cap and member of IBD's fabless semiconductor industry group is still sharply below the base's left-side high of 147.39.
On average, Astera trades 4 million shares a day. Earnings in the first quarter soared 267% to 33 cents a share on a 144% leap in sales to $159.4 million.
11:16 a.m. ET
These Small Caps Soar Higher
Small caps on the Russell 2000 added 1%, outperforming the other major stock indexes Thursday midday.
Within the Russell 2000, AeroVironment and Rocket Lab were some of the best performers, with gains of more than 13% and nearly 10%, respectively.
AeroVironment shares soared Wednesday after the drone maker announced earnings that topped expectations, but gave a mixed outlook. The stock topped a 202.74 handle entry.
10:37 a.m. ET
Treasurys Lower; These ETFs Are Up
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower to 4.27% Thursday morning. Meanwhile, oil prices moved up with West Texas Intermediate futures selling around $65.85 a barrel.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust rose 0.5%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF added 0.5% after the market open.
Magnificent Seven Stocks Outperform
New IBD Leaderboard stock Nvidia rallied 1.3% Thursday, hitting more new highs. Wednesday's breakout gains put Nvidia past a 153.13 buy point in a cup base.
In addition to Nvidia, most of the Magnificent Seven stocks climbed Thursday, and the Roundhill Magnificent Seven exchange traded fund outperformed the major stock indexes with a 0.6% gain.
Notably, Facebook-parent Meta Platforms moved up 1.9%, further out of buy range beyond a 662.67 cup-with-handle entry.
The two losers were Apple and Tesla, which declined 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively. Apple shares are seeing resistance around their 50-day moving average.
9:48 a.m. ET
Stock Market Movers: Circle, Palantir, Tesla
Other movers Thursday included Circle Internet, Palantir Technologies and Tesla.
Circle stock jumped more than 7%, while Palantir shares moved up 3.5%. Finally, Tesla stock climbed 0.2% in early trading.
8:46 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: GDP Weak, But Jobless Claims Beat Estimates
The Commerce Department said that GDP declined 0.5% in the first-quarter, missing estimates that called for a 0.2% contraction.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department's weekly jobless claims fell to 236,000. They were expected to hold steady at 245,000, according to Econoday estimates.
8:25 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Leader Disney Above Buy Point
Elsewhere, Dow Jones media giant Walt Disney is in a 5% buy zone past a 113.44 buy point in a handle entry, MarketSurge chart analysis shows. Shares were virtually flat in premarket trading Thursday.
Meanwhile, Tuesday's breakout stock Carnival broke out past a 24.66 handle entry during the session's 6.9% gain Tuesday following the company's strong earnings results. Carnival stock tacked on 1.3% in premarket trades Thursday.
Tuesday's IBD Stock Of The Day, Uber Technologies, is rapidly nearing a 93.60 flat-base entry amid strong gains this week. Shares have bullishly rebounded from their 50-day moving average, topping early entries at 88.38 and 87. Uber stock rose 0.6% ahead of the opening bell Thursday.
8:05 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: GDP, Jobless Claims
Due at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Commerce Department's first-quarter GDP is expected to contract 0.2% vs. the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the Labor Department's weekly jobless claims are expected to hold steady at 245,000, according to Econoday estimates.
Elsewhere, key earnings movers included Jefferies, Micron Technology, McCormick and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Jefferies stock declined more than 3%, while Micron shares rallied more than 2%. Finally, McCormick jumped nearly 5% as Walgreens edged higher in premarket trading.
Nvidia And Microsoft Battle For Supremacy In This Arena
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.
