Futures Rise Ahead Of Economic Data

Dow Jones futures rose Friday ahead of key economic data, as the stock market looked to add to Thursday’s gains. AI stock leader C3.ai (AI) soared 20% after the company’s better-than-expected earnings results, in which Chief Executive Thomas Siebel touted a “dramatic change” in sentiment for C3.ai’s artificial intelligence solutions.

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Economic data due out Friday morning includes S&P Global’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI and the Institute for Supply Management, or ISM, services index. The PMI services index is expected with a 50.5 reading, while ISM services index is expected to fall to 54.5 in February, from January’s 55.2 reading. The PMI is due out at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM number is out at 10 a.m. ET

On the earnings front, Broadcom (AVGO), Costco (COST) and Zscaler (ZS) were on the move.

Broadcom shares rallied 1.4%, while Costco stock slipped 2% in premarket trade. Zscaler shares tumbled 11.6% after the company issued billings growth that barely edged by analyst estimates.

Bitcoin tumbled nearly 5% Friday morning, as investors weighed the latest financial losses at cryptocurrency-focused bank Silvergate Capital (SI). Meanwhile, U.S. Senators questioned cryptocurrency exchange Binance over its money-laundering controls, calling it a “hotbed of illegal financial activity.” Bitcoin traded around $22,400 in morning trade.

Stock Market Today

Electric-vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) traded up 1.6% Friday morning, after a hectic week of trade that left shares pointed toward a weekly loss on Thursday. Dow Jones tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were mixed ahead of the stock market open.

IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Deere (DE), Toll Brothers (TOL) and Salesforce (CRM) — as well as Dow Jones stocks American Express (AXP), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) — are among the top stocks to watch, amid the recent stock market weakness.

Palo Alto is an IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock. Deere was a recent IBD Stock Of The Day pick. And American Express was featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.

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Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields

Ahead of Friday’s market open, Dow Jones futures rose 0.2% vs. fair value, and the S&P 500 futures moved up 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures narrowed its early gain to 0.2%, as chipmaker Marvell Technologies (MRVL) shed more than 9% on weak first-quarter earnings guidance.

Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.2% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moved up 0.2% early Friday.

The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.07%, closing at its highest level since Nov. 9 and on pace to extend a weekly win streak to six. Early Friday, the 10-year yield fell sharply to 4.02%.

U.S. oil prices paused after solid gains this week, falling 0.5% Friday morning. West Texas Intermediate futures traded just below $78 a barrel, up about 2% for the week and pointed toward its first weekly advance in three weeks.

Stock Market Rally Struggles

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 1.1% and the S&P 500 rose 0.8%. The Nasdaq advanced 0.7%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 followed up with a 0.2% gain.

Thursday’s Big Picture column commented, “Still, the market uptrend isn’t over yet, so keep an eye out for new market leadership that could emerge, like Duolingo (DUOL), and stocks that continue to hit new highs, like First Solar (FSLR).”

Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column amid the now-struggling stock market rally.

Five Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch Now

Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch: American Express, Cisco, JPMorgan

Featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column, American Express is building a giant cup-with-handle base that displays a 182.25 buy point. Shares are just 3% below their buy point, as they fell 0.3% Thursday. Bullishly, the stock’s relative strength line is at new highs, a particularly positive sign ahead of a potential breakout. AXP stock moved up 0.5% Friday morning.

Banking giant JPMorgan is in buy range above its 138.76 flat-base buy point despite a 1% loss Thursday, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Shares are rebounding from their key 50-day moving average last week. JPM shares inched higher early Friday.

JPM stock shows a solid 95 out of a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating, per the IBD Stock Checkup. The Composite Rating is designed to help investors easily find top growth stocks.

Cisco Systems rose 0.4% Thursday, still holding sharply below a flat base’s 50.81 buy point. Shares are trying to halt their slide around their 50-day line and are about 4% below the entry. CSCO shares inched lower Friday.

4 Top Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch In The Stock Market Rally

Top Stocks To Buy And Watch: Palo Alto, Salesforce

IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Palo Alto Networks is building the right side of a base that has a 193.01 buy point in the wake of last week’s more than-10% jump. PANW stock traded down 0.3% Friday morning.

Backstory: Last week, the cybersecurity giant announced good results for the January-ended quarter that saw earnings hit $1.05 a share, up 81% vs. a year earlier, on a 26% jump in revenue to $1.7 billion.

Dow Jones leader Salesforce staged a bullish breakaway gap past a 178.94 buy point on strong fourth-quarter results. Shares surged 11.5% Thursday and are in the 5% buy zone that goes up to 187.89. CRM stock moved up a fraction Friday.

Backstory: Salesforce sells software under a subscription model. Its software helps businesses organize and handle sales operations and customer relationships. The company has expanded into marketing, customer services and e-commerce. Salesforce said it has disbanded its “M&A committee,” implying it will make no more big acquisitions, amid growing pressure from activist investors.

Deere, Toll Eye Latest Buy Points

Deere shares rose 0.4% Thursday, still closing below their 50-day line. Shares are 6% under a 448.50 buy point in a flat base. DE stock moved up a fraction Friday morning.

Backstory: An industrial bellwether, Deere has shrugged off recession and inflation fears to deliver solid profits. In the last year, higher commodity prices let farmers buy both new and upgraded machines. In the fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 29, the tractor maker posted a 124% jump in per-share earnings on a 32.2% total revenue surge, both topping estimates. Earnings growth accelerated for a second straight quarter.

Homebuilder Toll Brothers is building a cup-with-handle base that displays a 63.29 buy point. Bullishly, the stock boasts a relative strength line at new highs during this week’s market action. TOL stock shows a solid 95 IBD Composite Rating. Toll Brothers shares were up 0.4% early Friday.

Backstory: Last week, luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers topped earnings and revenue projections while maintaining its full-year guidance. The homebuilder’s financial report comes as a 12-month slide in U.S. existing home prices showed signs of slowing in January.

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Stocks To Buy And Watch In Stock Market Rally

These are six top stocks to buy and watch in today’s stock market, including two Dow Jones leaders.

Source: IBD Data As Of March 2, 2023

Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock skidded 5.85% Thursday after the investor day failed to unveil a next generation electric vehicle. Shares are on a three-day losing streak and set for weekly losses of 3%.

Tesla stock looked to bounce back from Thursday’s losses, rallying 1.6% in Friday morning trade. Tesla sold 74,402 China-made electric vehicles in February, up 31.6% from a year earlier and up 12.6% from January, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.

Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft

Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares rose 0.4% Thursday, still squarely below their 200-day line. Shares are around 19% off their 52-week high. Apple shares climbed 1% Friday.

Microsoft shares remain below their 200-day line despite Thursday’s 2% advance. The stock is more than 20% off its 52-week high after recent declines. MSFT stock dipped 0.1% early Friday.

Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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