Dow Jones Gains 175 Points on Surprise Jump in Jobless Claims; Silvergate crashes 40%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 175 points on Thursday after the Labor Department’s surprise jump in first-time jobless claims. The price of Bitcoin fell 2% on Thursday, as cryptobank Silvergate capital (SI) crashed 40% on the news that they will shut down operations and liquidate subsidiary Silvergate Bank.
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Initial jobless claims jumped to 211,000, beating Econoday expectations that called for a small increase to 195,000 from 190,000 last week. Low weekly jobless claims continue to demonstrate the continued strength of the labor market, fueling market fears that the Federal Reserve may continue to raise interest rates longer.
Investors are bracing for a key jobs report from the Labor Department on Friday. Economists expect an increase of 220,000 in February excluding farm wages, with unemployment at 3.4%. In January, payrolls rose by 517,000, nearly double Econoday’s high estimate. Average hourly earnings are expected to grow 0.3%.
On the earnings front, Asana (ASAN), JD.com (JD) and MongoDB (MDB) was on the move.
Asana rose 13% after reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings results and issuing strong guidance. JD fell 5.6% even after beating expectations for the fourth quarter. And MDB shares plunged 10% after the company gave weak earnings guidance.
The stock market today
American Express ( AXP ) climbed 2.4% after announcing a 120 million share buyback plan and raising its dividend by 15%. Etsy ( ETSY ) sold off more than 6% after Jefferies doubled-downgraded the stock from buy to underperform.
Shares of Silicon Valley banks SVB Finance Group ( SIVB ) fell more than 39% after the company launched a $2.25 billion set of offerings after reporting a $1.8 billion loss in its government bond and mortgage-backed portfolio investments.
EV giant Tesla ( TSLA ) reversed early losses to rally around 1.5% Thursday morning. Dow Jones technology giants apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) was higher after the stock market opened.
IBD Leaderboard stock Alteryx (AYX), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), New relic (NEW) and Salesforce (CRM) — as well as Dow Jones shares American Express and JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) — is among the best stocks to buy and watch amid a stock market rally trying to pull away from fears of interest rate hikes.
Alteryx is an IBD Leaderboard stock. New Relic was recently an IBD Stock Of The Day. And Salesforce was featured in this week’s Stocks Near a Buy Zone column.
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Dow Jones today: Oil prices, Treasury yields
After Thursday’s market open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, and the S&P 500 was up 0.55%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.6% in morning action, with China-based JD.com and Tesla weighing in on early action.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust ( QQQ ) was up 0.6% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF ( SPY ) was up 0.55% early Thursday.
The 10-year US Treasury yield rose after Powell’s hawkish comments, settling at 3.97%. Then on Thursday, the 10-year yield fell to 3.96% after the jobless claims data.
Oil prices flattened after two consecutive days of losses. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading just below $77 a barrel early Thursday.
Stock market rally
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended with a modest loss of 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended slightly higher, with gains of 0.1% and 0.4% respectively.
Wednesday’s Big Picture column commented: “A surprise pullback in the final half hour of trading on Wednesday saved the stock market from taking a real lump on the head. But the pullback, which began in early afternoon trading Monday, underscored how the current path to a healthy recovery in stocks remain uneven.”
Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column in the middle of the stock market rally.
Five Dow Jones Stocks to Buy and Watch Now
Dow Jones stocks to buy and watch: American Express, JPMorgan
American Express remains near a 182.25 buy point in a giant cup with handles despite Wednesday’s 0.3% loss. Bullishly, the stock’s relative strength line is holding close to its highs, a particularly positive sign ahead of a potential breakout. AXP shares rose 2.4% Thursday morning, snapping a three-day losing streak after announcing the new buyback plan.
Banking giant JPMorgan fell further below its 138.76 flat buy point during the stock’s 0.6% decline on Wednesday, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Shares also moved further below support at their 50-day line, which is a key level to watch. JPM shares were 0.6% lower early Thursday.
JPM stock scores a 92 out of a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The Composite Rating is designed to help investors easily find top growth stocks.
4 top growth stocks to buy and watch Stock market rally
Top stocks to buy and watch: Palo Alto, New Relic
Palo Alto Networks continues to trade quietly after the stock’s 12.5% gain on Feb. 22 and is close to adding a handle. Shares remain within striking distance of a base buy point at 193.01. PANW stock traded up 0.2% on Thursday morning.
Background story: On Feb. 21, the cybersecurity giant announced strong results for the quarter ended in January, with earnings reaching $1.05 per share, up 81% from a year earlier, on a 26% jump in revenue to $1.7 billion.
Recent IBD Stock Of The Day, New Relic, is working on a flat base with a buy point at 80.98 in the wake of the February 8 earnings-driven rally. The NEWR share fell 0.3 percent on Thursday.
Backstory: New Relic offers a cloud-based suite of software products that enable organizations to collect, store and analyze massive amounts of data in real time. Customers gain increased visibility into their enterprise software to help make data-driven decisions.
Alteryx, Salesforce near last buy point
IBD Leaderboard stock Alteryx continues to struggle after giving up a 66.50 trendline buy point within a handle of an early cup during this week’s losses. A conventional entry of 70.73 is also in play. Alteryx was down 0.2% on Thursday.
Background story: The Irvine, Calif., firm created a self-service data analytics platform. Demand is clearly strong as sales have risen from a low of $100 million per quarter in 2021 to $216 million in Q3 2022, up 75% compared to a year ago, and $301 million in Q4 2022, up 73% . This rapid revenue growth is one of the reasons why Alteryx also posted a profit of 84 cents per share in the 4th quarter, likely the largest quarterly earnings in the company’s history.
Last week, Dow Jones leader Salesforce staged a bullish breakaway gap past 178.94 buy points on strong fourth-quarter results. But the gains are slowing a bit amid the four-day losing streak, as shares lost 0.2% on Wednesday. The share is in the 5% buy zone which goes up to 187.89. CRM shares lost 0.3% on Thursday.
Background story: Salesforce sells software under a subscription model. The software helps companies organize and manage sales operations and customer relations. The company has expanded into marketing, customer service and e-commerce. Salesforce said it has disbanded its “M&A committee” and indicated it will not make any more big acquisitions, amid mounting pressure from activist investors.
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Shares to buy and watch in a stock market rally
These are six top stocks to buy and watch in today’s stock market, including two Dow Jones leaders.
| company name | Symbol | Right point of purchase | Type of point of purchase |
|---|---|---|---|
| New relic | (NEW) | 80.98 | Flat base |
| Alteryx | (AYX) | 70,73 | Cup with handle |
| American Express | (AXP) | 182.25 | Cup with handle |
| Palo Alto Networks | (PANW) | 193.01 | Consolidation |
| JPMorgan | (JPM) | 138.76 | Flat base |
| Salesforce | (CRM) | 178.94 | Cup with handle |
Source: IBD data as of March 8, 2023
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Tesla shares
Tesla shares fell another 3% on Wednesday, falling for the third day in a row after the stock received a downgrade. The EV giant is also facing an investigation into possible steering problems.
Shares closed Wednesday about 53% off their 52-week high. Aggressive investors can use the February 16 high of 217.65 as a potential entry. To be safe, however, Tesla stock should clear the 200-day line, which is now below 220.
Tesla stock reversed up 1.6% on Thursday morning, looking to bounce back from recent losses.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among the Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares rose 0.8% on Wednesday, recovering from Tuesday’s losses. The share rose 0.8 percent early Thursday.
Microsoft shares extended Tuesday’s losses, falling 0.2% on Wednesday. The stock is still around 20% of its 52-week high after the latest decline. MSFT shares rose 1.4% on Thursday morning.
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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