Dow Jones Soars 400 Points To New High As Microsoft Jumps; Stocks Rally On Jobs Report
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 400 points to a record high midday Monday, thanks to Microsoft’s breakout and Friday’s bullish jobs report.
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The S&P 500 rallied 1.4%, the Nasdaq rose 1.3% and the Dow Jones industrials gained 1.2% in the stock market today. Small caps tracked by the Russell 2000, up 0.4%, lagged. Volume was lower on both major exchanges vs. the same time Thursday.
On Friday, the Labor Department’s March jobs report showed a nonfarm payrolls gain of 916,000. Economists expected to see nonfarm payrolls up 625,000.
Tech stocks boosted the Nasdaq to a 43.6% gain in 2020 for its fifth best year ever. The S&P 500 rose 16.3% and the Dow added 7.2% last year. After a strong start this year, the market is now rebounding from a short correction. Read The Big Picture for detailed daily market analysis.
The Covid-19 pandemic has roiled the U.S. economy, as nationwide lockdowns pass the one-year mark. But many states are relaxing restrictions, and there are signs of hope as vaccinations roll out and cases start to plateau in some states.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 33559.34 | +406.13 | +1.23 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4077.51 | +57.64 | +1.43 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 13659.81 | +179.70 | +1.33 |
| Russell 2000 | (IWM) | 224.01 | +0.27 | +0.12 |
| IBD 50 | (FFTY) | 44.62 | +0.01 | +0.02 |
Last Update: 12:00 PM ET 4/5/2021 |
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Cumulative Covid-19 cases worldwide have topped 132 million, with nearly 2.9 million deaths, according to Worldometer. In the U.S., cases are approaching 31.4 million and 569,000 deaths, although the number of new cases in the U.S. has slowed dramatically.
Dow Winners And Losers
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Microsoft (MSFT) and Walmart (WMT) rallied about 3% each on the blue chip Dow index.
Microsoft rose 2.7% in twice normal trade to break out past a 246.23 buy point of a flat base, according to MarketSmith chart analysis. It remains in a buy range that goes up to 258.54. The base is second stage, which means Microsoft stock may still have room to run. Stocks often make their biggest advance out of such early stage bases.
A 42 Relative Strength Rating, though, means 55% of all other stocks are outperforming the software giant. Its relative strength line is also lagging. Microsoft is an IBD Leaderboard and IBD Long-Term Leader stock.
Walgreens, up 3.3%, is in buy range from an alternate entry of 56.22. Shares rallied 3.6% on Thursday, after the drugstore chain reported fiscal Q2 profit that topped Wall Street forecasts.
Among other Dow winners, Boeing (BA) and Intel (INTC) gained more than 2% apiece.
Only three blue chips were lower, but by less than 0.5% each: Disney (DIS), Chevron (CVX) and Goldman Sachs (GS).
Outside The Dow
Automakers, software, internet content and drugstore stocks led the upside among IBD’s 197 industry groups. But solar and oil and gas stocks lagged.
In the internet content group, Alphabet (GOOGL) leapt 3.4%, clearing a 2,145.24 buy point of a flat base in heavy trade. On a weekly chart, it also broke out past a three-weeks-tight pattern with the same buy point. Shares remain in buy range, which tops out at 2,252.50.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Alphabet’s favor in a copyright dispute with Oracle (ORCL) involving Android software. The court ruled 6 to 2 in Google’s favor. Alphabet is a Leaderboard stock.
Tesla (TSLA) cruised nearly 5% higher in fast turnover as it gets closer to retaking its 50-day moving average. It may be building a new base but is too early to identify a buy point.
The electric-car giant reported Q1 deliveries of 184,000, easily beating views. Deliveries were up 109% from a year ago and 2.3% from Q4, defying predictions for a sequential decline. Analysts on average had forecast 168,000, according to FactSet.
Tesla’s Q1 deliveries consisted exclusively of the Model 3 and Model Y, though its production total of 180,338 included 2,020 Model S sedans and Model X SUVs.
Garmin Breaks Out
Garmin (GRMN) rose 2.5% to break out past a 133.53 buy point of a first-stage flat base. Volume was running about 33% higher than usual. The strongest breakouts tend to occur in trade at least 40% higher than normal. Shares are in buy range up to 140.21.
The fitness watch and GPS device maker has a 97 Composite Rating, which gives investors a quick way to gauge a stock’s key growth traits. That puts Garmin at the top of the 14-stock electronic consumer products group.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) edged slightly higher, led by Tesla, Southern Copper (SCCO) and Sibanye Stillwater (SBSW). But 360 DigiTech (QFIN), At Home (ATHM) and Wayfair (W) weighed.
Follow Nancy Gondo on Twitter at @IBD_NGondo
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