Dow Jones futures fell modestly early Friday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
The stock market rally shrugged off modest early losses after the Christmas holiday. The major indexes rose slightly while small caps had a solid gain.
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Stocks Hold In Quiet Day; Burlington Stores, Boston Scientific, Vertex Inc.
Nvidia (NVDA) edged lower Thursday, trading around key levels after just flashing a buy signal Tuesday. Broadcom (AVGO) and Astera Labs (ALAB), the AI stock leaders right now, continued to climb.
Meanwhile, several speculative hot stocks continued to soar, including SoundHound AI (SOUN), Rigetti Computing (RGTI) and Rocket Lab USA (RKLB). With the possible exception of RKLB stock, these names are not in position.
In a less-heated space, Burlington Stores (BURL), Boston Scientific (BSX), MasTec (MTZ) and Vertex (VERX) are setting up and potentially actionable.
Nvidia stock is a hedged position on IBD Leaderboard, with Astera Labs on the Leaderboard watchlist. Astera Labs stock, Rocket Lab, Nvidia and Broadcom are on the IBD 50. Broadcom stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20. Boston Scientific was Wednesday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.
The video embedded in this article discusses Wednesday’s market action and analyzes Burlington Stores, Boston Scientific and Vertex stock.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures lost 0.3% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures declined 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3%.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.61%. Crude oil 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.
Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally had a relatively quiet session, but did close near intraday highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1% in Thursday’s stock market trading, a fifth straight gain and nearing the 50-day line after a 10-day slide. The S&P 500 index lost a fraction, finding support at the 21-day line. The Nasdaq composite also edged lower, but held the 20,000 level. The small-cap Russell 2000 climbed 0.9%, starting to close the distance to the 50-day line.
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) rose about 0.2%, comfortably below the 50-day line.
The First Trust Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index ETF (QQEW) eked out a gain, looking a lot like the Dow.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 0.7% to $69.62 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield was roughly flat at 4.58% after hitting 4.64% intraday, the highest since early May.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) popped 1%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) and VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 0.2%. Nvidia stock is the No. 1 holding in SMH, with Broadcom also a key component.
ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) was flat and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) jumped 2%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) rose 0.2%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) and the Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) dipped 0.1%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) climbed 0.2%, with Boston Scientific stock a member.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) also advanced 0.2%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) inched up 0.1%.
Time The Market With IBD’s ETF Market Strategy
SoundHound AI, Speculative Stocks
SoundHound stock shot up 19.7% to 24.23, hitting a new high. SOUN stock is up 160% so far just in December. Nvidia owns a stake in SoundHound AI, which is seeing rapid revenue growth. Early Friday, shares fell slightly.
Rigetti Computing stock vaulted 36% to 15.44, hitting a record high. Shares of the quantum computing startup are up 406% so far in December. RGTI stock traded as low as 66 cents on Sept. 9. Rigetti jumped again in premarket action.
Rocket Lab stock jumped 6.9% to 28.44, clearing a short consolidation to a new high. Shares were arguably actionable above a short-term high of 26.78, but perhaps only as an add-on buy or swing trade. RKLB stock is 51% above its 50-day line. The private space company edged higher before the open.
Nvidia Stock
Nvidia stock dipped 0.2% to 139.93, right on the 50-day line after falling to 137.73 intraday, testing the 21-day.
Shares just nudged above the 50-day on Tuesday and broke a short downtrend, offering an early entry but without much power. Tuesday’s high was 141.90.
At the end of this week, Nvidia is on track to have a shallow double-bottom base with a 146.54 buy point.
Shares edged lower Friday morning.
Nvidia isn’t the AI chip leader right now. Broadcom stock rose 2.4% Thursday after Tuesday’s 3.15% gain, moving back toward record highs. AI chip IPO Astera Labs stock rallied 3% to yet another record after popping 4.45% Tuesday.
What To Do Now
The stock market rally is acting well, despite remaining somewhat divided. Plenty of stocks are working well, though many are extended.
The end of the year’s light trading and potential tax-related selling in early January make this a tricky time. Aside from some incremental adds, short-term trades or minor profit taking, investors needn’t take much action.
It’s a good time to review past trades, looking at your biggest winners and losers and the top performers that you missed. What lessons can you take from 2024 that will make you a better trader in 2025?
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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