Stock indices suffered some losses in the last half hour of trading on Thursday after a surge in wholesale prices in February surprised investors and weakened retail sales. Nvidia and Super Micro Computer plunged in the stock market today, even as analysts bullied both AI leaders. A Cathy Wood held up rose.
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Bitcoin and gold fell as Treasury yields rose. Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve is due to meet and decide on interest rates on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.4 percent on Thursday even as some tech leaders performed well. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.3%. But the small cap Russell 2000 suffered a heavy loss of 2.4%.
Labor Department data showed the producer price index rose 0.6 percent in February. Economists had expected wholesale prices to rise 0.3 percent monthly. On an annual basis, prices rose 1.6%, higher than views of 1.2%.
In other economic data, initial jobless claims for the week ended March 9 fell to 209,000. Economists had expected 215,000 claims, according to Econoday. Also, February retail sales rose 0.6 percent from 0.7 percent, after falling 0.8 percent in January.
Most S&P 500 sectors were lower in the stock market today, although communications services and energy rose.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq rose on Wednesday, according to preliminary data. But the magnitude was discouraging, with deniers beating advancers by 4 to 1 on the NYSE and nearly 8 to 3 on the Nasdaq.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 10 basis points to 4.29 percent. In an unwelcome move for stocks, yields rose above their 200-day moving average, to the highest level since February 29.
The Innovator IBD 50 ( FFTY ) exchange-traded fund lost 1.7%.
The Federal Reserve will meet on Wednesday for its rate decision. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the odds of no change in rates are a whopping 99% in March but only 37.1% for June.
Dow Jones Stocks
On the Dow Jones index, only seven stocks rose on Thursday. apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) increased, as did Visa (V). Microsoft and Visa are retracing their 10-week moving averages.
But JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Verizon (VZ) and IBM (IBM) weighed on the Dow Index.
Outside the Dow, Nvidia ( NVDA ) closed 4.2% lower. On Thursday, BofA Securities raised its price target on IBD Leaderboard and IBD 50 holdings to 1,100 from 925. BofA analyst Vivek Arya finds Nvidia’s “price and ownership attractive compared to semi/infotech peers.”
The upgrade comes as the leader in artificial intelligence chips plans its GTC AI conference for developers next week. Nvidia has had a great run, up 77% year-to-date since its massive rally in 2023, when it surged 239%.
Super Micro downgrades today in the stock market
Meanwhile, BofA analyst Rupal Bhattacharya raised his price target. Super Microcomputer (SMCI) from 1,040 to 1,280, but shares fell about 5 percent. Both Nvidia and Super Micro are testing their short-term moving averages. Super Micro has a year-to-date gain of 298%.
Fund manager Kathy Wood’s ARC Invest Holdings Robin Hood (HOOD) rose more than 5 percent. The financial services company increased its assets under custody by 16 percent in February, reports said.
during this, Tesla ( TSLA ) fell 5% in the stock market today. Shares are extending the downtrend.
Earnings moved homebuilders and software stocks. Lennar ( LEN ) fell more than 7 percent and fell below a buy point after its earnings report came out late Wednesday. According to FactSet, the homebuilder missed sales views, and projected a bearish outlook for the current quarter. Shares fell to their 50-day moving average on Thursday.
UiPath (PATH) and Sentinel One (S) fell below their 50-day moving average on heavy volume, which is a sell signal. Sentinel One’s sales and margin outlook fell short of expectations.
Stock close to buy points
Some stocks in the stock market today remained close to buy points on reasonable basis. Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) remained close to its buy point at 143.35 despite a 2.5% drop in today’s trading. Royal Caribbean (RCL) was near a buy point of 133.77 in a cup base. The company is discussed in today’s IBD 50 Stocks to Watch.
Finally, the latest IBD Stock of the Day and Leaderboard holdings Dex work (DXCM) slipped below a buy point of 132.03. No cell signal yet.
Act on V Ramakrishnan On X/Twitter for more news on the stock market today.
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