Leadership-quality stocks proved a mixed bag Thursday, yet the major indexes enjoyed hefty gains on the back of news that the U.S. and U.K. have struck a trade deal, possibly avoiding steep tariffs that could have harmed both economies. Boeing, an apparent winner from the new agreement, led the Dow Jones Industrial Average with a 3.4% advance in strong volume on the stock market today.
After the close, earnings were due from Toast and other key companies. Toast, the restaurant point-of-sale tech innovator, enjoyed a 2.9% lift to 36.58 and briefly moved above a cup with handle and its 36.75 pivot point.
Another stock reporting earnings was Taser maker Axon Enterprise, which barreled 14% higher to 686.83 and closed in on the top of its new base. Axon's profit rose 23% in the first quarter to $1.41 a share on 31% growth in revenue to $603.6 million. Axon ranks No. 18 in the IBD 50.
Profit Taking In Final Hour
Meanwhile, the Dow and other indexes cooled off during the final 30 minutes of trading Thursday. The 30-stock Dow industrials closed with a 0.6% gain of 254 points to 41,368. At one juncture, the Dow jumped as much as 660 points.
Daily charts now show the Dow Jones has firmly retaken its 50-day moving average, a bullish move following Investor's Business Daily's reporting of a Day 9 follow-through day on April 22.
The Nasdaq composite at one point Thursday climbed as much as 2.1% and headed closer to its 200-day moving average. The tech-buoyed index finished the day 1.1% higher. The Nasdaq 100, which features the 100 largest nonfinancial companies on the main exchange, added 1% but at one point delivered a rise of more than 2%.
The S&P 500 ended the day up 0.6% after jumping more than 1.5% to a high of 5,720. That's the benchmark index's highest level since March 27. The 500 still lies below its flattened 200-day moving average.
Despite substantial gains, the major indexes lagged a 1.9% pop by the Russell 2000. That said, smaller stocks have fallen behind their larger siblings in 2025 so far.
Volume came in at a higher rate vs. the same time Wednesday on both main exchanges — up 7% on the Nasdaq and 13% on the New York Stock Exchange, based on preliminary data.
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Where The Buying Was, And Wasn't
Interestingly, among the dozen or so IBD industry groups that waged price-weighted gains of 4% or more, virtually none were in computer or digital technologies. Instead, security/safety, airline, shoe, agricultural operations, material handling and automation, auto retail, oil and gas machinery and automaker groups led the upside.
The mixed fortunes of leadership stocks showed up when small loan and financial services platform Dave rocketed out of a deep cup-without-handle base and soared more than 40% to a 52-week high.
But data center and oil exploration land investor LandBridge, along with Indian growth companies MakeMyTrip and lending giant Icici Bank, got trampled by sellers. Those three stocks get high IBD ratings on fundamentals, price action and quality of fund sponsorship. But Indian equities fell en masse as concerns over hostilities between India and neighbor Pakistan, as well as trade and tariff concerns linger.
Los Angeles-based Dave, meanwhile, reported explosive first-quarter results, with profit quadrupling to $2.48 a share on a 47% increase in sales to $108 million. Pretax margin was healthy at 29.5%.
Market Swings On Trump Vs. Trump; Robinhood Leads Six New Buys
Stock Market Today: Crypto Claws The Bears
Elsewhere, risk-on emotions appeared to swell, as seen by the sharp rise by Bitcoin back above the psychologically important $100,000 mark.
Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy also outperformed in the stock market today, gapping up at the open and rallying nearly 6.9% in active trading. The stock hit a session high of 423.11 and aimed at a five-month closing high.
"Bitcoin's recovery to $100,000 isn't just a milestone; it's a powerful confirmation that crypto is entering a new era," said Duncan Moir, president of 21Shares, a major platform for digital currencies and tokenized funds based in Europe and the largest global issuer of crypto exchange traded products. Beyond speculation, Bitcoin is "becoming a strategic allocation and a store of value," Moir said in emailed comments to IBD.
Meanwhile, Grayscale Bitcoin ran 5.4% higher and traded close to its intraday high. The exchange traded fund is now just 8% below the 86.11 peak of a five-month base. A trendline entry drawn on the weekly chart from that 86.11 high reveals an early entry point near 80.
Grayscale rocketed 1,195% from its 2022 bear-market low of 6.65 to its 86.11 high before going into its current base-building phase.
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Big Boeing Boost
Dow component Boeing had recently lurched past an early-stage base, a nine-week double bottom, with a 184.40 buy point and was making piecemeal progress before the announcement at the White House. But on Thursday, shares coasted in bullish form, surging more than 4% and touching a session high of 194.75. At that price, Boeing stock would be extended past the 5% buy zone.
Howard Lutnick, U.S. Commerce secretary, said at a news conference inside the Oval Office that Boeing looks set to receive $10 billion in plane orders from Britain. Besides Boeing, eight more components of the 30-stock blue-chip average gained two points or more.
Data from Thinkorswim showed rising stocks beating falling issues by nearly 5-to-2 on the Nasdaq. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners outdistanced losers by nearly 4-to-1.
Other financial assets cooled. Gold futures for near-term delivery sank 2.2% to $3,316 an ounce. Gold has had a great year so far, at one point rising as much as 33% for the year and reaching as high as $3,509. Copper futures fell 1.6% to $4.58 a pound, but crude oil jumped 2.8% to $59.69 a barrel on the Nymex exchange.
10:53 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Robinhood Breaks Out, AppLovin Soars
Among newer stocks, Robinhood Markets broke out on high volume while AppLovin soared on earnings news.
Robinhood illustrated the strength of brokers and investment banks, as the app-based trading platform surged nearly 7%. Volume was robust as the stock rolled past resistance near 51, creating an aggressive entry point. The stock is still trading well off its new base's high. The stock cooled off moderately after posting a strong revenue beat in the first quarter.
Other app-related stocks shot upward. AppLovin, a big winner in 2024, rumbled nearly 13% higher in heavy trading. At the early session high of 357.59, AppLovin hit a two-month high, but still needs more work building the right side of a new base.
The specialist in ad delivery technology for app developers pleased investors with a 149% leap in first-quarter profit to $1.67 a share on a 40% pickup in sales to $1.48 billion. AppLovin's 74 Relative Strength Rating on a three-month basis, according to MarketSurge data from Investor's Business Daily, needs improvement. The 12-month RS Rating, however, is a best-possible 99.
A Healthy Labor Market?
On the economic front, weekly jobless claims came in at 228,000 for the week ended May 3, 4,000 less than the Econoday forecast and down from the prior week's eye-catching rise to 241,000. Last week, the Labor Department reported healthy nonfarm payroll gains in April and an unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%.
Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, commented that continuing claims "also dropped last week but remain nearly 100,000 higher than a year ago" in an email sent to IBD.
"At the margins, newly unemployed workers appear to be having a harder time finding new employment. Even so, continuing claims remain in line with a relatively solid labor market," Baird wrote. Plante Moran has $21.7 billion in assets under management.
The yield on the key U.S. 10-year Treasury bond lifted two basis points to 4.3%. That suggested investors sold some of their debt holdings to deploy cash into equities.
Stock Market Today: These Other Companies Excel
Alongside Robinhood, other bank and brokerage stocks excelled. Charles Schwab edged up mildly and is still in a 5% buy zone after clearing a double-bottom chart pattern that shows an 81.24 proper entry.
StoneX, aiming at a fifth up week in a row, is now extended after clearing its own double-bottom base with an 83.53 timely entry. Shares rose initially but were down in recent trades.
Elsewhere in the stock market today, Fortinet sold off on quarterly results. A leader among IBD's security software industry group, the large cap fell more than 10% in heavy trading.
Near 94, the stock needs more time forming the right side of a prospective new base and is now 18% below the base's left-side high of 114.82.
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