Dow Jones Futures: Nasdaq Runs On Trump, Fed; Big Earnings Movers Late
Dow Jones futures edged higher overnight, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
The stock market rally rose again Thursday, with the Nasdaq leading the continued postelection Trump bump. Stocks fractionally added to gains as the Federal Reserve cut its key rate and Fed chief Jerome Powell signaled further easing.
Nvidia (NVDA) rose modestly to fresh highs, arguably still actionable. Fellow AI chip giants Broadcom (AVGO) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) flashed early entries.
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Arista Networks (ANET), Cloudflare (NET), Fortinet (FTNT), Axon Enterprise (AXON), Sweetgreen (SG), Affirm Holdings (AFRM) and Square-parent Block (SQ) were notable earnings reports after the close.
Nvidia, Axon and Broadcom stock are on IBD Leaderboard. Nvidia stock is on SwingTrader. Affirm stock, Arista Networks, Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia are on the IBD 50. Axon and Arista stock are on the IBD Big Cap 20.
Powell: No Trump Election Impact On Rate Outlook
The Fed cut its key rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 4.5%-4.75%, as expected. Fed chief Jerome Powell said the job market continues to \”very gradually cool.\”
Powell said the election results have no impact on the monetary policy outlook. When asked, the Fed chief said that he would not step down early if Trump asked. Earlier Thursday, a senior Trump adviser told CNN that the president-elect will likely back Powell serving his full term, which ends in May 2026.
All in all, Powell sounded confident about the economy and the Fed\’s \”middle path,\” suggesting further gradual rate cuts for now.
The odds of a December rate cut rose modestly to about 75% after the Fed meeting and Powell\’s comments.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose a fraction vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures edged higher.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn\’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally extended Wednesday\’s huge postelection gains, though Thursday\’s advance was more lopsided toward big-cap techs. The major indexes slightly improved after the Fed announcement and Powell\’s comments, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting fresh all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than one point in Thursday\’s stock market trading after Wednesday\’s 3.6% leap. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5%, fueled by tech giants such as Nvidia, Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA) and several others more. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.4% after spiking 5.8% on Wednesday.
AppLovin (APP) erupted for a 46% gain, among many big earnings winners. But Mercadolibre (MELI) and Clear Secure (YOU) were big earnings losers.
Many leaders are greatly extended or have earnings on tap. Nvidia, Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor stock are among names that are actionable or nearly so. So are Costco (COST), Samsara (IOT), Deckers (DECK) and Amphenol (APH)
Taiwan Semi, which makes chips for Nvidia, Broadcom and many others, reports October sales early Friday.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 0.9% to $72.36 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield sank 8 basis points to 4.34% following the Fed meeting and Powell\’s news conference. That\’s after hitting a four-month high of 4.48% intraday Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, more closely tied to the Fed rate-hike outlook, declined 5basis points to 4.22%.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) jumped 2.5%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) popped 2.4%. Nvidia, Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor stock are big SMH holdings. ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) advanced 1.05%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) fell 0.3% and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) sank 0.6%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) gave up 1.5%. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) ran up 5.1%.
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Key Earnings Movers Late
Doximity (DOCS), Toast (TOST) and Axon Enterprise stock surged late on earnings, with Expedia (EXPE) rising solidly. Insulet (PODD) climbed modestly, around a buy point.
Sweetgreen, Cloudflare and Trade Desk (TTD) tumbled late. Airbnb (ABNB), Fortinet and Arista Networks fell solidly. Square and Affirm fell modestly in volatile action. All but Trade Desk had been around buy points.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally is in great shape after two weeks of mammoth news.
However, there aren\’t a lot of stocks to buy right now that are in position and don\’t have earnings in the next few days. Don\’t chase after extended stocks or make buys just before earnings.
You can make incremental buys or add-on moves while also reviewing laggards in your portfolio. Sector or market ETFs are a way to play the current bull market as well.
But you don\’t have to make major moves if you\’re significantly to heavily invested with the market charging higher. Even for active investors, a lot of money is made in the sitting.
Keep working on watchlists and considering exit strategies.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
