The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose modestly Friday, as the stock market looked to close out of a week of solid gains. The stock market will close early Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
Stock Market Today
China-related stocks showed weakness Friday, as China’s new Covid-19 cases hit a record high. Nearly 30,000 infections were recorded Wednesday, surpassing the previous record in April. Alibaba (BABA) and JD.com (JD) both declined around 3% in morning trade.
Electric-vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) traded down 1% Friday morning. Early Friday, China’s market regulator said Tesla planned to conduct over-the-air fixes — software updates that don’t require a visit to the dealer — of about 80,000 cars in China due to issues with its battery management systems and seat belts.
Activision Blizzard (ATVI) dropped more than 4%, to the bottom of the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500, after news reports on Wednesday said the Federal Trade Commission was likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft’s (MSFT) $69 billion takeover of the video game leader.
Dow Jones tech leaders Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft were mixed after today’s stock market open.
IBD Leaderboard stock Arista Networks (ANET), KLA (KLAC), Shoals Technologies (SHLS) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) — as well as Dow Jones names Caterpillar (CAT) and Chevron (CVX) — are among the top stocks to buy and watch.
Arista Networks is an IBD Leaderboard stock and was a recent IBD Stock Of The Day. Ulta Beauty was featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Shoals was a recent IBD 50 Stocks To Watch pick.
Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields
After Friday’s opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 moved down 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.5% in morning action.
Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.6% early Friday, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) lost 0.2%.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher to 3.73% Friday morning, still near its recent lows and threatening to extend a losing streak to three sessions. Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices rebounded Friday morning, but were still on pace for heavy weekly losses. West Texas Intermediate futures rose more than 2%, to above $79 a barrel.
Stock Market Rally
On Wednesday, the stock market posted modest gains. The Nasdaq composite rallied 1%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed just 0.3%.
Wednesday’s The Big Picture commented, “Initially, major indexes enjoyed mild gains during the first 90 minutes of trading, then backtracked to break-even levels. But the release of minutes from the Nov. 1-2 Federal Reserve meeting added credence to the belief among traders that the U.S. central bank will, for now, take a break from raising interest rates in three-quarter-point salvos.”
