Dow Jones Futures Fall On California Curfew, Coronavirus Restrictions; Workday Earnings Top| Investor’s Business Daily
Dow Jones futures fell late Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures as a California curfew and other fresh coronavirus restrictions worry investors as Covid cases hit a new daily record in the U.S. Nasdaq futures, with more stay-at-home plays, were little changed.
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The stock market rally bounced back Thursday, with growth stocks leading.
On Thursday, a number of leading stocks offered early buy points. Software makers CrowdStrike (CRWD), Okta (OKTA) and Twilio (TWLO) broke trend lines. So, arguably, did Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Novocure (NVCR) approached trend lines. All five stocks are staging rebounds from their 50-day and 10-week lines.
Late Earnings
Workday (WDAY), Williams-Sonoma (WSM) and Intuit (INTU) reported better-than-expected earnings late Thursday.
Workday stock reversed lower in extended trade. Intuit stock edged lower after closing within a buy zone. Williams-Sonoma stock rose, suggesting a possible breakout from a short consolidation.
Finally, Tesla stock hit a record high Thursday before paring gains. China EV makers Nio (NIO), Xpeng Motors (XPEV) and Li Auto (LI) all outpaced Tesla.
Tesla and Novocure stock are on IBD Leaderboard. CrowdStrike stock, Tesla and AMD are on SwingTrader.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures fell 0.7% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures lost 0.7%. Nasdaq 100 futures were nearly back to break-even.
Coronavirus restrictions and social distancing, though helpful in curbing the Covid-19 spread, also could chill an already-slowing economic recovery. That’s likely why Dow Jones futures are struggling, with Boeing (BA), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Caterpillar (CAT) all losing ground. Tech futures are less affected, with stay-at-home plays such as Zoom Video (ZM) rise.
The Treasury Department said late Thursday that it asked the Federal Reserve to extend some emergency coronavirus aid programs for 90 days, but also end others, including the Main Street Lending program. Some of those programs were used sparingly, but the Fed said it would prefer to keep all of the programs.
Mnuchin or the next Treasury Secretary reportedly could revive the lapsed programs.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live.
Coronavirus Cases
Coronavirus cases worldwide reached 57.23 million. Covid-19 deaths topped 1.36 million.
Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have hit 12.05 million, with deaths above 258,000.
New Covid cases in the U.S. topped 192,000 on Thursday, a new daily record. Deaths have topped 2,000 Thursday, the highest since early May. Hospitalizations are at record levels and rising fast.
California Curfew Coronavirus Restrictions
California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew starting Saturday for most of the state. The new coronavirus curfew affects counties in the “purple” tier of Covid cases, which is nearly all of them.
New York City public schools were shut down due to rising coronavirus cases in the city.
Several cities and states have imposed new restrictions on restaurants, gyms and more.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans not to visit family for Thanksgiving feasts, as experts warn that could trigger a big spike in outbreaks.
Covid Vaccines Soon
BioNTech (BTNX) and Pfizer (PFE) plan to file for emergency FDA approval on Friday. The Moderna coronavirus vaccine might follow next week.
Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna (MRNA) coronavirus vaccines, which use similar mRNA technology, are roughly 95% effective, a high level.
AstraZeneca (AZN) said Thursday that its coronavirus vaccine was safe and triggered an immune system response in a Phase 2 trial. Final-stage trials are underway.
The chief scientific officer for Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said Thursday that he expects the Dow giant to have enough data for its coronavirus vaccine to seek FDA approval in January or February.
So there’s a decent chance that four coronavirus vaccines will be approved by the end of February, facilitating mass vaccinations.
Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally bounced back from Wednesday’s sell-off-into-the-close retreat, led by growth stocks.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is ready to restart stimulus talks. But it’s unclear if renewed negotiations will lead to an actual deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.15% in Thursday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index rose 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9%. All are near record levels.
Among the best ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) popped 1.8%. So did the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV). Workday stock and Intuit are IGV holdings. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced 1.3%. AMD stock is a key SMH component.
Stocks With Early Entries
One way to find early buy points is to use trend lines. Stocks breaking above trend lines are clearing some technical resistance, and may have room to run. Such moves are even more powerful when combined with a rebound from the 10-week line. That’s the case for Twilio stock, CrowdStrike, Okta, AMD and Novocure.
CrowdStrike rose 4.4% to 143.76, clearly breaking a downward-sloping trend line. Another resistance point is at 144.29, offering an entry at 144.39. CRWD stock traded above that level for much of Thursday’s session.
Okta stock climbed 3.85% to 232.45, also breaking a downtrend. Intraday, shares nearly hit a 237.72 early entry.
AMD stock rallied 3.6% to 85.54, clearing a more aggressive trend line. Another early entry would be 87.15. AMD has an official double-bottom buy point of 88.82.
Novocure stock climbed 2.9% to 125.26. Shares approached a trend line but never crossed it. Arguably another early entry would be 132.08. NVCR stock was Thursday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.
Twilio jumped 6% to 295.65, closing right around the trend line.
Workday Earnings
Workday earnings jumped 62% to 86 cents a share, well above views. Revenue grew 18% to $1.11 billion, also beating, though growth slowed for a sixth straight quarter.
The human resources and financial management software maker also raised subscription revenue guidance. But executives also made some cautious comments about future margins.
Workday stock reversed lower overnight to down 3%. Initially, shares rose after hours above early buy points at 231.53 and possibly 236.94. The official buy point is 248.85. On Thursday, WDAY stock climbed 3.2% to 230.80, moving above a downtrend.
Tesla Stock Flies, EV Rivals Outpace
Tesla stock ran to a record 508.61 intraday, fading to close up 2.6% to 499.27. In midmorning trade, Consumer Reports said the electric-car leader ranked next-to-last in its auto reliability survey, with the Model S and Model Y no longer recommended. For the week, TSLA stock is up 22%, blasting past a buy point on its S&P 500 nod.
Tesla fell 1% overnight, perhaps amid concerns about coronavirus restrictions, especially in the key California market.
Meanwhile, Nio stock popped 7.5% to a record close. Xpeng stock leapt 14% and Li Auto climbed 3.5%, also hitting all-time closes. All three Chinese EV startups have been surging over the past several weeks.
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