The stock jumped into the first full week of April trading on Monday, driven by a strong March payroll report delivered during Friday’s holiday. Airlines, casinos and semiconductors generated initial gains. Tesla led the mobilization of electric vehicle manufacturers after exceeding the first quarter’s delivery targets. Boeing moved up a buying range on the Dow Jones today.
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Dow industrialists rose 300 points for a brief period, up 0.8%, to snap a new record. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% on the stock exchange today, taking it to its own new record above 4,000. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.1%, giving it a little more breathing space above its 50-day moving average.
Tesla (TSLA) was a great pioneer, rising almost 5% after reporting on Friday that its deliveries easily exceeded expectations in the first quarter. Tesla’s shares are trying to start on the right side of a three-month consolidation, but are struggling against resistance at its 21-day exponential moving average.
Other electric car manufacturers showed mixed results at the beginning of the trade, with Ford Motor (F) increase of 1.9% after the delivery of more than 6,600 Mach-E Mustangs during the quarter. IBD Leaderboard Stock General Motors (GM) gained 2.9% in the first negotiations. Among EV manufacturers based in China, Nio (NIO) added 0.5%, while Xpeng (XPEV) fell 1.2%. Li Auto (LI) also reversed downward, trading down 0.3%.
Caesars Entertainment (CZR) jumped 4.3%, while MGM Resorts International (MGM) rose 6.5% after Morgan Stanley raised both shares to overweight. Airlines also showed initial strength, with United Airlines Holdings (UAL) and American Airlines Group (AAL) each up to about 4%.
Steel Cleveland Cliffs (CLF) reached 3.8% in the first negotiations. The IBD 50 stock ended Thursday in a buying range, after breaking above 18.87 buying points on an 11-week cup basis on Wednesday.
Payroll report exceeding target
Data released by the Department of Labor on the Good Friday holiday showed an increase of 916,000 jobs in March, and strong upward revisions for the January and February figures. The combination sent the unemployment rate to 6.0% and boosted the risky climate shown by investors at the end of last week.
The 6% unemployment rate met expectations, but the 916,000 count was well above projections for an increase of 625,000 workers. Non-farm payroll employment remains 8.4 million below the peak of 152.5 million in February 2020.
Boeing in the buying range at the Dow Jones today
Boeing (BA) rose 2.1% to lead the Dow Jones today. The IBD Leaderboard’s stock reached a canopy base point of purchase at 244.18 in early March, then retreated to test that entry again, as well as support in its 21-day exponential moving average.
The 21-day support rebound leaves Boeing shares down in the purchase range, which extends to 256.39.
Microsoft (MSFT), Dow Jones’ other share on the Leaderboard list, traded 0.6% higher on Monday morning. This moved the heavy software developer and cloud service provider to less than 1% below a 246.23 point of purchase on a fixed six-week basis.
Taiwan Semiconductor reverses, chip stock rises
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) topped the list of leaders in the pre-market trade, but opened with a 0.1% drop. The stock suffered a five-week downturn last week, showing a big gain on Thursday after announcing a $ 100 billion plan to expand Taiwan Semi’s manufacturing capacity over the next three years.
The news raised chip inventories overall, with chip equipment manufacturers getting the biggest boost. Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research (LRCX) was trading higher on the Nasdaq 100 on Monday morning, up 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively.
IShares PHLX Semiconductor (SOXX) was up 0.9%, and VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) added 0.6% in the first trades. Both ETFs are just below the purchase points in the baseline standards. The point of purchase for the PHLX fund is 444.07. The point of purchase for the VanEck fund is 258.69.
Oil, copper, bonds, bitcoin
Oil prices fell sharply, with West Texas Intermediate falling more than 2%, but remaining above $ 60 a barrel. Copper jumped higher, gaining 2.8%, to trade above $ 4.10 a pound. Copper hit a 10-year high of $ 4.30 in February.
Bonds were effectively stable, with 10-year yields rising 1 basis point to 1.73%. Yields recovered rapidly from record lows of around 0.50% in August. They bypassed pre-pandemic levels last week, rising above 1.76% – the highest level since January 2020. Yields started in 2020 at about 1.8%, which was around 2.7% a year earlier.
Stock market ETF strategy and how to invest in the current bullish trend
Markets in Hong Kong remain closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and planned to restart on Wednesday. The Shanghai, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges reopen on Tuesday.
Bitcoin declined slightly at the beginning of Monday, being traded down 0.3% and just below $ 58,000, according to CoinDesk. The cryptocurrency reached a record high of $ 61,556 on March 13.
Biotechs lead small capitalization rally
Small capos were strong in early trading, with Russell 2000 up 1%. Biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry helped boost initial gains among small businesses. Russell 2000 Shares Invitae (NVTA) jumped 8% higher after the company announced a $ 200 million acquisition. In addition, from Japan SoftBank Group (SFTBY) is taking over a $ 1.1 billion stake in the company, in the form of convertible senior debt. SoftBank’s shares were up more than 5%.
Also on Russell 2000, Supernus Pharmaceuticals (SUPN) jumped 8.2% and Pacific Biosciences (PACB) rose 5.7%.
The VanEck Vectors Biotech (BBH) ETF fell behind the general market with an increase of 0.3%.
Nano-X images (NNOX) skyrocketed 35% at the opening of the talks, after announcing on Friday that its single-source Nanox.ARC digital X-ray technology received 510 (k) authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Israel-based company’s Nanox.ARC technology emits less radiation than traditional X-ray techniques.
The new August issue ended on Thursday 130% above the initial offer price in August and 56% below the January high.
Dow Jones Today: A Strong First Quarter
Healthy advances on Wednesday and Thursday put Nasdaq back above its 50-day moving average as well as its 21-day exponential moving average. The S&P 500 is at a new record and above the 4,000 level.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones today is just below its previous week’s high after three days of stagnant trading. In the first quarter and year-to-date, the Dow rose 11.3%, almost double the 5.8% advance of the S&P 500. The Nasdaq rose 2.7%.
Almost 7% of the Dow’s high occurred in March. The S&P 500 gained 4.4% in the month, while the Nasdaq gained 0.4%. This sealed a third month of exceptionally tight monthly closings for the Nasdaq.
For a more detailed analysis of the current stock market and its status, study the big picture.
Strong gains on Wednesday and Thursday sent bullish signals, and the market’s status is back on track in a confirmed bullish trend. But tight monthly closings for the Nasdaq are important to watch out for. They show lazy institutional investors, possibly waiting to see how the Treasury’s rising earnings unfold, or perhaps hoping that the Biden government will prove that it can advance budget and political initiatives in a rigidly divided Senate.
For now, the Nasdaq’s wait on support above its 50-day line is tentative, and the 13,600 level may show additional resistance. Another day or two of gains would give the bullish trend some margin to support itself and possibly close the gap between the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and industrial Dow. The Nasdaq will then again face the 14,000 mark, which broke up briefly in February, before falling.
Find Alan R. Elliott on Twitter @IBD_Aelliott
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