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Investors Business Daily
Investors Business Daily
Business
SCOTT LEHTONEN and DAVID SAITO-CHUNG

Stock Market Today: Indexes End Higher; Ferrari, Shopify Surpass New Buy Points; ASML Shellacked (Live Coverage)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average built upon mild afternoon gains and finished decently higher Wednesday following President Donald Trump's denial of reports he planned to fire the head of the Federal Reserve. While the Dow industrials rose 0.5%, small-cap stocks did even better on the stock market today.

The volatile session saw the Russell 2000 pace key indexes by rallying 1%. The Dow, meanwhile, dipped as much as 0.6% intraday before ending higher. Amazon led the downside, dropping 1.4%. Amazon has ventured back into the 5% buy zone after rallying past a 214.84 proper buy point in a four-month cup with handle.

But most blue chips rallied, led by Johnson & Johnson, which jumped 6.2% and reached a three-month peak. The stock got closer to a potential breakout point at 169.99.

Caterpillar was another winner Wednesday. The Dow industrials stock ran up more than 8% over the May-June time span and has moved nearly 0.4% in July so far.

The large-cap S&P 500 erased moderate losses to finish up 0.3%. The intraday range remained fairly narrow, from a low of 6,201 to a high of 6,268, or 1%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite edged slightly higher. Breadth turned positive, with gainers topping decliners on the Nasdaq by close to a 2-1 ratio.

The Nasdaq-100 index ended up just 0.1%, but it had dropped as much as 1% during the morning swoon. The collection of the Nasdaq's 100 largest nonfinancial companies is 0.8% higher for the month, following three straight up months. At 22,907, the 100 is up 9.2% year to date.

Total volume grew 7% vs. the same time Tuesday on the Nasdaq and moved roughly 2% higher on the New York Stock Exchange.

Within the IBD 50, Circle Internet dominated the upside with a 19% thrust higher in heavy volume. Shares marked a three-week high, but are still working on a new base. Symbotic, Rocket Lab, Roblox and Shopify each rallied 4% or more.

IBD Long-Term Leaders: Cintas On Deck For Earnings

3:44 p.m. ET

Shopify Surges

Growth investors certainly piled into Shopify. The e-commerce firm barreled ahead 3.8%, reversing an early-morning decline and jumping off its 21-day exponential moving average in bullish fashion. Volume was moving 44% higher than the stock's average level over the past 50 sessions.

Shopify has been building a cup pattern, and it still hasn't jumped out of that pattern. However, a daily chart indicates at least proper buy points based on the concept of the handle.

A handle represents a final shakeout among disgruntled investors who have been sitting in the stock underwater. The stock bottomed out in its current base at 69.84 in early April, and has since rebounded. The stock has gotten closer to the cup's left-side high of 129.38, sparking some selling as uncommitted holders exited the stock to break even or cut their losses.

While a handle at 112.38 has been identified on a MarketSurge daily chart, Shopify also formed an additional handle at 117.36, marked by the 117.36 peak on June 11. The 5% buy zone from 117.36 goes up to 123.23.

A 46% correction from high to low in the base goes beyond the ideal maximum decline of 30% to 33% in the cup with handle. When a stock falls 50%, it has to double, or rise 100%, just to get back to the old peak. Such a move sparks profit-taking. Plus, Shopify is prone to big daily swings, so it's easy to get shaken out. That said, Shopify has been holding bullish support at the 21-day line. Watch to see if the stock encounters upside resistance at 120.

Expect Shopify to report second-quarter results on July 30. Wall Street sees earnings up 11% to 29 cents a share. That would mark the smallest year-over-year increase in at least eight quarters. Full-year profit is expected to rise 10%, a mild number, but reaccelerate to 27% growth in 2026 to $1.76 a share.

The Street thinks second-quarter revenue will bump up 24% to $2.54 billion, down mildly from an average increase of 26% over the prior four quarters.

See more earnings news and upcoming results at IBD's Earnings Calendar.

2:17 p.m. ET

Ferrari Also Leads Stock Market Today

For active growth stock investors, Ferrari presented a new trendline entry near 499 Wednesday as shares revved more than 2% higher and marked a session high of 502.68. The stock has built a four-month cup with handle that displays a standard buy point of 503.10. To find this buy point, locate the highest price within the handle, which is the intraday high on May 21.

The luxury sports car giant reports second-quarter results on July 31. In the first quarter, the Italian automaker grew earnings 18% to $2.49 a share on a 13% boost in sales to $1.94 billion.

Ferrari hosts a shiny 96 Earnings Per Share Rating on a scale of 1 to 99. But its Relative Strength Rating of 69, according to IBD Stock Checkup, lacks luster. Watch to see if the RS Rating improves in the next few days. IBD research on the biggest stock market winners found that the average RS Rating at the start of huge price runs was 87.

Investor's Corner: What Is A Stock Breakout?

Chips Get Nicked, Circle Well-Rounded

Meanwhile, chip equipment companies got hammered by a dour 2026 outlook from industry titan ASML. ASML shares plunged nearly 7% in recent action.

The VanEck Semiconductor exchange traded fund still slipped 1%, and volume ran much higher than its 50-day average. The fund did rally off intraday lows, though, after sinking as much as 2.6%.

 

12:45 p.m. ET

Stocks Yo-Yo On Trump-Powell Rumors

Market indexes yo-yoed on reports that President Donald Trump, having criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on multiple occasions for refusing to budge on short-term interest rates, was now considering firing America's most prominent banker. But in an Oval Office chat with the media, Trump brushed off such reports.

The NYSE Composite, a focal point of Tuesday's Big Picture story, edged off its session low to inch up three points to 20,383.

A daily chart shows how the index is now wrestling for bullish support near its 21-day exponential moving average. The NYSE Composite has driven 12% higher since a pivotal follow-through day took place on April 22, igniting a tradable rally in the stock market today.

Futures: Nasdaq Hits Record Close After Powell Scare

11:54 a.m. ET

Stock Market Today: This Transportation Group Leads

Looking at IBD's 197 industry groups, Transportation-Truck led the field. The group gained 1.4% on a price-weighted basis. Within the group, JB Hunt Transport rose nearly 2% and volume was heavy. But the stock came off a session high of 157.86. Hunt is also still trading beneath its falling 200-day moving average, a bearish sign.

The stock, with 99.2 million shares outstanding and a $15 billion market cap, is also 24% off its 52-week high. Watch to see if JB Hunt can rebound back above its 200-day line. Such positive price action would indeed boost its low Relative Strength Rating of 21.

The company posted a 1% dip in second-quarter earnings to $1.47 a share; revenue was virtually flat at $2.93 billion.

Other industry groups to watch on the upside: leisure gaming, up 1.3%; biotech, up 1.3%; toys and games, up 1.2%; and diversified medical, up 1.1% and led by a 6% jump by Johnson & Johnson, which got covered in detail in Wednesday's episode of IBD Live.

Go to IBD Stock Lists on the main navigation bar, then click in Data Tables to see the daily changes of all 197 industry groups tracked by Investor's Business Daily.

Elsewhere in Wednesday's trade, the small-cap Russell 2000 quickly reversed its mild gain into a 0.4% loss. Bitcoin-related funds resisted the broader market decline, though; Grayscale Bitcoin Trust climbed more than 2% and worked on a sixth gain in seven sessions.

10:43 a.m. ET

ASML Stock Whacked

Dutch chip equipment firm ASML got torched, gapping down at the open and falling more than 10%. Volume already spiked past three million shares, the highest level in more than two months. The stock is close to possibly testing support at the 200-day moving average.

ASML earnings actually were solid in the second quarter, rising 62% to $6.96 a share. Sales rose 36% to $9.07 billion. But gross margin ticked lower to 50.8% vs. 51.5% in the prior quarter, and management forecast no growth next year. ASML makes gigantic machines that allow chipmakers to efficiently etch complex designs on silicon wafers to produce semiconductors.

Related stocks fell in sympathy. KLA Corp., a member of IBD Long-Term Leaders, trimmed losses and respected its 21-day exponential moving average, yet still fell nearly 3% in heavy trading. Applied Materials, a laggard among top-rated growth stocks with a 76 Relative Strength Rating, slumped more than 4%. Volume was running 164% above normal pace. But the stock is still building the right side of a mammoth-size base.

9:47 a.m. ET

Bonds, Oil, ETFs

The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.46%. Oil prices dropped with West Texas Intermediate futures selling around $65.70 a barrel.

Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust added 0.1%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF was up 0.2%.

9:36 a.m. ET

Dow Jones Movers: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft

Inside the Dow Jones industrials, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft were on the move.

Apple stock advanced 1%, looking to add to Tuesday's slight gain. Amazon declined 1%, threatening to snap a three-day win streak. And Microsoft eased from Tuesday's record highs, down 0.4% early.

9:21 a.m. ET

Stock Market Today: Circle, Nvidia, Palantir, Tesla

Circle Internet rebounded nearly 4% Wednesday morning, bouncing back from Tuesday's 4.6% decline. Shares remain sharply off their June 23 high.

Nvidia moved up 0.2%, looking to add to Tuesday's jump to new highs. Meanwhile, Palantir climbed 0.5%, nearing another record high.

Finally, Tesla bounced 0.6% Wednesday. The electric-vehicle giant found stout resistance at its 50- and 200-day moving averages Tuesday.

8:42 a.m. ET

Cooler-Than-Expected Inflation Data

Early Wednesday, the Labor Department said that the June Producer Price Index was unchanged on the month, with an annual increase of 2.3%. Both were cooler than expected.

The core PPI index was also below estimates, coming in unchanged. Its year-over-year increase was 2.6%, in line with estimates.

8:01 a.m. ET

Earnings Movers: ASML, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs

Key earnings movers Wednesday beyond ASML included Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and Morgan Stanley.

while Bank of America gained nearly 2%. Goldman Sachs shares moved up 1.5%, as J&J stock climbed nearly 2% in premarket action. Finally, shares of Morgan Stanley edged lower in early morning trades.

Stock Market Today: Inflation Data On Tap

Early Wednesday, the June Producer Price Index inflation report is due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect wholesale inflation to rise 0.2% on the month, with an annual increase of 2.5%. They see core PPI, excluding food and energy, climbing 0.2% in June, with a year-over-year increase of 2.7%, according to estimates from Econoday.

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. You can also follow Chung on X/Twitter: @saitochung and @IBD_DChung

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