Dow Jones futures rose slightly after hours, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
The stock market rally erased a modest loss to close higher, albeit barely, amid continued Mideast tensions. The Nasdaq found support at its 21-day moving average for a second straight session.
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Stocks Hold Firm Despite Mideast Caution; Vertex, BRO, SCCO In Focus
Tesla (TSLA) fell Wednesday after deliveries failed to meet whisper numbers, but TSLA stock rebounded off key support.
Nvidia (NVDA) rose after testing support, along with fellow AI chip giants Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) and Broadcom (AVGO). Nvidia stock rose slightly overnight as CEO Jensen Huang cited “insane” demand for the next-generation Blackwell AI chips.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Cava Group (CAVA) also came off lows, holding key levels.
Nvidia stock is on IBD Leaderboard, with Cava on the Leaderboard watchlist. Cava stock is on SwingTrader. Nvidia and Royal Caribbean stock are on the IBD 50. Broadcom stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose a fraction vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.15% and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2%, buoyed by Nvidia.
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 had a fairly quiet session and ended little changed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% in Wednesday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index was up less than one point. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.1%.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are still just below last week’s all-time highs, with the latter finding support just above the 21-day line and the top of a prior consolidation. The Nasdaq is holding the 21-day line, though it’s below the 18,000 level. The small-cap Russell 2000 finished just above its 21-day line, not far from its 50-day line.
It’s no coincidence that Nvidia, Tesla, and many other stocks are finding support around their 21-day lines as the Nasdaq does.
U.S. crude oil prices edged up 0.4% to $70.10 a barrel, well off intraday lows.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose four basis points to 3.78%. The ADP Employment Report indicated stronger-than-expected private-sector hiring last month. The September jobs report is due Friday.
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ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) advanced 0.15%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) rallied 0.9%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rebounded 1.4%. Nvidia is the No. one holding in SMH, with Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor stock also key members.
Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) sank 0.7% while ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) rose a fraction. Tesla stock is still a big holding across Ark Invest’s ETFs. Cathie Wood also has built up a sizable Nvidia stock stake.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) declined 0.5%. U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) descended 1.2%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) fell 0.8%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) climbed 1%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) and Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) dipped 0.2%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) edged up 0.1%.
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Tesla Deliveries
Tesla deliveries rose 6% vs. a year earlier to 462,890 in the third quarter, perhaps slightly above official estimates. But it was below “whisper” numbers of 465,000-470,000 or even higher.
Also, Tesla said it deployed 6.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy storage in the third quarter, down sharply from Q2’s record 9.4 GWh. It was 70% above a year earlier.
Tesla Falls On Deliveries While BYD Soars On Surging Sales
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock sank 3.5% to 249.02. Shares fell as low as 241.50 shortly after the open, but found support just above the 21-day line. TSLA stock has a 271 cup-base buy point. But it could be working on a handle that would lower the entry and let moving averages catch up.
Ideally, Tesla stock would set up a handle heading into the Oct. 10 robotaxi event, which is likely to have a big impact on the share price.
Nvidia Stock, AI Chips
Nvidia stock rose 1.6% to 118.85, rebounding from its 50-day moving average and reclaiming the 21-day line. Investors could use the Sept. 26 high of 127.67 as a trendline entry, or a handle buy point. The Aug. 26 high of 131.26 also could serve as a buy point.
NVDA stock rose slightly overnight after CEO Huang told CNBC that “Blackwell is in full production, and demand for Blackwell is insane and “on-schedule. Everyone wants to be the first to get their hands on it.”
Huang has been upbeat about Blackwell production and demand over the past several weeks.
Taiwan Semiconductor stock climbed 2.2% to 175.80. TSM stock reclaimed the 21-day line and a 175.45 cup-with-handle buy point, according to MarketSurge analysis. The Nvidia chipmaker broke out strongly last week, but then tumbled back in the prior three sessions. Taiwan Semi will report Q3 sales next week and Q3 earnings the following week.
Broadcom stock gained 1.9% to 170.66, rebounding from the 21-day line. AVGO stock has a 185.16 consolidation buy point, but is on track to have a handle after Thursday’s trading. That would lower the buy point to 180.25.
TSM stock and Broadcom edged higher late amid Huang’s comments.
Other Stocks To Watch
Royal Caribbean stock finished 1% higher at 174.96 after initially falling to briefly undercut its 21-day line and nearly testing a 169.47 cup-with-handle buy point.
Cava stock edged up 0.4% to 122.92 after falling to 118.62 in the morning, briefly undercutting the 21-day line. The recent pullback so far has been a healthy shakeout after shares wedged up for a few weeks to the Sept. 23 record high. A move above the Oct. one high could offer an aggressive entry or a place to add shares.
Rules For When To Buy And Sell Stocks In Bull And Bear Markets
What To Do Now
Unless you’re an extremely nimble trader, there hasn’t been much reason to be buying stocks this week. Investors may have trimmed exposure, especially if recent buys triggered sell rules, but it’s largely been a time to wait-and-see.
A good day or two and the key indexes and leading stocks will be looking bullish. A lot of potential handles and pullbacks have been forming. But a bad day could cause real damage in the Nasdaq and Russell 2000, as well as for stocks like Nvidia.
With that in mind, make sure you’re watching those emerging setups, while also having your exit strategies in place.
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.
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