Stock Market Today: Nvidia Rises to Drive Entry as Indices Move Higher; Costco makes a bullish move

The stock market went into a seesaw during the first 2.5 hours of trading today, with the Nasdaq composite leading the way, up nearly 0.7%. But other large-cap indexes cooled during slightly negative market breadth. Nvidia organized a follow-up purchase point. Chip stocks dominated; Enterprise software companies traded mixed.

Bond prices continued to weaken, pushing yields higher and creating near-term headwinds for stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average bore the brunt of the morning selling, falling as much as 0.6% to 38,221. The Dow Jones managed to reduce that loss to 0.3% around noon.

At least eight of the 30 components fell by two points or more, including the struggling healthcare play United Health (UNH), part of the IBD Long-Term Leaders, and Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs (GS). Bloomberg reported that the bank’s treasurer has left to take a position with a major hedge fund.

On Friday, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Black rock (BLK) And Wells Fargo (WFC) are among the financial institutions reporting first-quarter results.

On Thinkorswim, the losers remained the top winners. On the NYSE, declining stocks outpaced gainers by a 9-5 margin. Nasdaq decliners led gainers by fewer than 300 shares.

A new buying point for Nvidia

Nvidia (NVDA), a mainstay on the Leaderboard portfolio for more than a year, tested the 10-week moving average near 841 and is looking to erase losses for the week. Shares in the AI ​​processor powerhouse rose as much as 14 points to an early session high of 884.96.

During lunch on Wall Street, Nvidia held on to those gains admirably. For more on whether NVDA stock is a buy or a sell, read this IBD story.

The mega-cap tech and true stock market leader has a composite rating of 99 on a scale of 1 to 99.

This Investor’s Corner highlights the benefit of buying strong growth stocks on the first or second pullback to the 10-week line after a breakout.

In Nvidia’s case, the 5% buy zone from the new follow-on buy point goes from 841 to 883. So the stock expands somewhat from that point.

Fair today

Around 11:55 a.m. Dutch time, the S&P 500 was 0.2% higher at 5,170. The Russell 2000, which undershot its 50-day moving average on Wednesday in the wake of a disappointing consumer prices report in March, initially fell almost 0.4% but rose almost 0.4%.

Volume was lower on both the Nasdaq and NYSE exchanges compared to the same time on Wednesday.

Some construction-related companies experienced a sharp decline.

A sell signal triggered by Fastenal

Confirmation (FAST) led the downtrend in the stock market. Shares fell at the open and briefly traded below 70, triggering a sell signal by falling below the 50-day moving average after a solid run-up.

On a weekly chart, notice how Fastenal has also broken below the 10-week moving average for the first time in months, a bearish change in character. A few weeks ago, Fastenal saw its mid-October gains following a breakout past a trendline entry near 57, reaching nearly 39%.

The building products supply chain reported flat first-quarter earnings of 52 cents per share. Sales rose 2% to $1.9 billion. That marked the slowest annualized gain in at least eight quarters.

Smart investors are also keeping a close eye on the cost of money on Thursday. In recent days, the yield on the 10-year US government bond has risen from 4.3% to a whopping 4.58%. As bond prices fall, their yield (or yield) rises, making them more attractive compared to stocks.

More tech stocks to watch

Back to tech stocks, Marvell technology (MRVL) is reportedly planning an event to discuss its AI initiatives. The stock rose almost 0.9% early and is trying to form a new base. However, around noon it turned lower.

Alphabet (GOOGL), the internet searcher that is also working on its own chips for cloud computing and accelerated computing, continued to push past a new buy point of 153.78 in nine weeks. The stock is in the buy zone at 161.47. Google shares, which are up about 0.4%, are on track to rise four of the past five sessions.

Not all stocks in the semiconductor sector followed Nvidia’s upside.

Intel (INTC) has shown sour action since the 8% gap on April 3. Since then, the chipmaker has fallen below its 200-day long-term moving average.

Leading retailer in the stock market

Elsewhere in the stock market Costco Wholesale (COST) attempted to recapture its 50-day line as shares edged higher, attempting to post a third straight gain. The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from 14 cents to $1.16 per share. A new foundation is forming.

After the close Wednesday, the member-based discount retailer posted a 6.4% year-over-year increase in net sales through the first 31 weeks of the fiscal year, to $146.6 billion.

Costco leads the stock market and is up as much as 41% since the key follow-up day on November 1, which signaled another tradable rally had begun. The S&P 500 is up 24% over the same period.

On the other hand, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) fell by more than 2% to the lowest level since mid-January. A big drop below last week’s 50-day moving average was not of great magnitude. However, the loss of support at the key technical level signals further weakness.

The biotech giant is reportedly being investigated by the Justice Department for possible price fraud related to its Eylea drug for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.

Regeneron stock has a mediocre relative strength rating of 73. The RS line has been trending lower since late February.