Stocks began to rise early on Tuesday as bonds tumbled, commodities skyrocketed and market optimism stimulated sentiment. Chipmakers have shown strength, with Nvidia rising in a buying range. Bitcoin rose above $ 50,000, giving PayPal Holdings a boost. Salesforce.com plowed into the Dow Jones today.
X
The Nasdaq rose 0.4% on the stock market today and was just 0.35% ahead of the Dow industrials. The S&P 500 added almost 0.4%.
On the Nasdaq 100, JD.com (JD) took the early lead, up 4.7% after a regulatory filing showed plans to eliminate its logistics unit as an independent entity on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Zoom video (ZM) and China based Trip.com (TCOM) each achieved 4%. Trip.com remained in a buying zone above a buying point of 37.55 in a 12-week cup base.
Commodities plays were at the top of the S&P 500 as markets responded to recurring power outages in Texas. Oil stocks made six of the S&P 500’s best early gains.
Car drivetrain manufacturer BorgWarner (BWA) pushed up more than 7% after announcing that it would acquire German Akasol in a deal worth about $ 917 billion. Akasol makes high performance lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. BorgWarner’s share was poised for an early breakout above a 43.32 buy point in an 18-week cup base.
Get ready for this week’s market action by reading IBD’s investment action plan.
Slides: AMAT Target Hikes, Nvidia Buy Range
Shares in the chip sector were in early trading. Applied materials (AMAT) jumped more than 3%, leading the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Analysts from Stifel, Deustche Bank and B. Riley Securities have raised price targets on Applied Materials. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose 1.1%.
IBD Leaderboard stock Nvidia (NVDA) increased early action by 1%. Nvidia ended in a buying series on Friday, above a buying point of 587.76 in a flat base. The buy range extends to 617.15.
Salesforce leads Dow Jones Today, Palantir earnings
Salesforce.com (JPM) and Ruspe (CAT) raised the Dow Jones today, by about 2% each in early trading. A top executive said the company plans to move its staff to full-time and part-time work-home status following the Covid pandemic, reducing real estate costs, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Salesforce stock climbs to the right of a 14-week consolidation. It reports fourth-quarter earnings on February 25th.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) fell more than 9% after reporting a surprise loss in the fourth quarter. However, revenue rose 40% to more than $ 322 million. Management’s revenue forecast for the first quarter and full year was higher than the analysis targets.
The IBD Leaderboard stock wiped out a 30% gain from an outbreak in January, causing a sell signal to flicker. But the stock has since stabilized at its exponential moving average of 21 days.
Hong Kong, Tokyo Rally; NatGas Spikes On Winter Weather
In Washington, Congress marked intentions to draw attention to President Joe Biden’s proposed $ 1.9 billion stimulus effort, after the indictment against former President Donald Trump ended Saturday with a Senate acquittal.
European markets struggled to mixed afternoon trading, after Hong Kong bounced back from a five-day holiday with the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo. Hong Kong ends with a 1.9% increase, as the city has eased its social distance rules for the first time in three. months. The Nikkei gained a 1.3% lead, highlighting Monday’s rally – which raised the index above the 30,000 level for the first time in more than thirty years.
Oil prices have recovered to the highest levels since the start of the pandemic on Monday, as production closures due to winter weather in Texas caused concern over supply. Gasoline and natural gas prices rose on Tuesday as refineries and pipelines were shut down, and demand for heating in the winter raised early commodity trading.
West Texas Intermediate Oil rose 0.3% to $ 59.63 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose above $ 64 a barrel. Natural gas futures rose 5.6%. RBOB Petrol futures rose 4.1%.
Coronavirus update: deaths, new cases continue to drop
The decline in new coronavirus cases reported in the US continued, with the average of seven days for new cases reported falling below 88,000 on Monday. It marked 35 consecutive days of declines and placed the number at its lowest level since November 2nd. The seven-day average peaked at 255,258 on January 11, according to Worldometer.
Deaths are starting to trend much lower than cases have been reported. The average of seven days for deaths reported daily peaked at 3,447 on January 26th. After 20 consecutive days of declines, deaths fell to 2,481 on Monday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Reports that 70,057 million doses of vaccine have been distributed so far in the US. About 52.9 million doses, almost 76% of the distributed doses, were administered. As of December 30, less than 11.5 million doses had been dispensed, with approximately 2.1 million shots, administered 18.2%.
Bitcoin hits $ 50,000; 500.com rises with Bitcoin transaction
Bitcoin hit a new high of more than $ 50,000 late Monday, with prices rising about 3% and trading above $ 49,000 earlier Tuesday, according to CoinDesk. Marathon Patent Group (MARA) climbed 10.1%. MicroStrategy (MSTR) jumped 4.5%. MicroStrategy has announced a $ 600 million debt offering to finance the purchase of additional Bitcoin.
The Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOCK) rose 8.8%.
China-based 500.com (WBAI) increased by more than 75% in early trading. The company has announced that it will acquire Blockchain Alliance Technologies Holding Co., a Bitcoin mining and services operator, in the Cayman Islands.
IBD Leaderboard stock PayPal Holdings (PYPL) swung almost 3% higher. PayPal shares have been somewhat affected by the price changes of Bitcoin since the beginning of November, when the company launched a cryptocurrency trading service that trades on Bitcoin.
PayPal inventory is extended after a breakthrough in November and a setback in January of ten-week support.
Five Flickering Stocks Buy from Bullish Rebounds
IBD 50: General Southern Copper Rally
Generac Holding (GNRC) topped the early IBD 50 list with an advance of 5.7%. Shares rose 39% on Friday from an early January outbreak. The manufacturer of emergency generators has forged a space in the solar power market, giving the company a broader position for energy solutions.
Southern Copper (SCCO) has also risen, by 4.2% and plans to leave a buying range after a ten-week support setback.
Dow Jones Today: Walmart Earns on Deck
There is no earnings activity on the Dow Jones today Walmart (WMT) will submit the only blue-chip report of the week on Thursday. Home Depot (HD) reported next Tuesday. Salesforce.com bats are clearing for the Dow reporting season in December on Thursday, February 25th.
Walmart is in an 11-week basis with a standard buy point at 153.76. The pattern offers an alternative buying point for more aggressive investors at 150.03.
Home Depot built a 24-week base with a default buy at 293.05, and an early alternative at 285.87.
Find Alan R. Elliott on Twitter @IBD_Aelliott
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