The Nasdaq composite and Russell 2000 small-cap index outperformed in the stock market today, helped by a November jobs report that came in slightly better than expected. But the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher and the labor force participation rate ticked lower.
The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 held gains of 0.5% and 0.4% as both moved off session highs. Price action was more subdued in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was fractionally lower. The S&P 500 edged higher by 0.2%.
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Winners beat losers on the Nasdaq exchange by about 5-to-3. Breadth turned slightly negative on the NYSE after being 2-to-1 positive early in the session.
Some of the stock market’s leading growth stocks outperformed by a wide margin again, with names like Palantir (PLTR), AppLovin (APP) and Affirm (AFRM) up 5% to 6%. It’s tempting to chase performance like this, but all three stocks are nowhere near proper entries.
Bitcoin edged higher to around $93,000 after a brief stay above the $100,000 level Thursday. Crypto exchange operator Coinbase (COIN) bounced back 4% after reversing sharply lower Thursday in higher volume.
Stock Market Movers
Technology stocks like Salesforce (CRM), IBM (IBM) and Amazon.com (AMZN) outperformed in the Dow Jones today. Salesforce stock continues to show strength and support after gapping up Wednesday on strong earnings.
IBM broke out of a cup base at a 237.37 buy point and hit an all-time high, while Amazon looked poised to extend its wining streak to six sessions.
Inside the MarketSurge Growth 250, GitLab (GTLB) tried to break out from a cup-with-handle base with a 68.69 entry. But an 11% intraday gain faded badly to around 1% at midday.
While several leading growth stocks are quite extended past proper entries, a few stocks are trying clear bases. China-based online travel firm Trip.com (TCOM) rallied 2% and is near the top of a nine-week consolidation with a 69.67 buy point.
In the software sector, Manhattan Associates (MANH) is vying for a breakout from an eight-week cup base with a 307.50 entry.
10:21 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today Gets Jobs Data
Sentiment was generally positive in the stock market today on news the economy created 227,000 jobs in November, a little better than the 200,000 consensus forecast. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% from 4.1%, while the labor force participation rate edged lower. The latest job growth was much higher than October’s paltry payroll gain of 12,000. That number was revised higher to 36,000 but was skewed by Hurricane Milton.
The 10-year Treasury yield was essentially flat around 4.18% ahead of the jobs data. It was down four basis points to 4.14% after the report. Over at CME FedWatch, futures traders now think there’s an 87% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by another 25 basis points this month. But rate cut expectations for next year, at least for now, have been dialed back quite a bit.
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Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and Lululemon Athletica (LULU) brought more good cheer to the retail sector with decent earnings reports.
Ulta stock soared more than 10% despite another quarter of lackluster growth. Adjusted profit inched up 1%, while revenue edged up 2% to just over $2.5 billion. Ulta bumped up its full-year earnings guidance and revenue guidance, but the new earnings guidance seemed to be in line with the FactSet consensus.
Meanwhile, after a strong rally off lows, Lululemon soared more than 15% after fiscal Q3 revenue growth accelerated from Q2, rising 9% to nearly $2.4 billion. The results were helped by strong growth in international markets, with same-store sales in China up a better-than-expected 4%. Total revenue increased 2% in the Americas and 33% internationally, although international revenue is still a small portion of total revenue.
More Earnings
Several other earnings reports made headlines. Veeva Systems (VEEV), a provider of software to the life sciences industry, gapped out of a lengthy consolidation. Shares jumped more than 5% after the company reported a 31% rise in quarterly profit, with revenue up 13% to $699.2 million.
E-signature leader DocuSign (DOCU) vaulted around 20% after results topped expectations. The company also lifted its full-year revenue guidance. Like many other growth stocks currently, DocuSign was quite extended headed into its report. The weekly chart shows a breakout from a handle the week of Sept. 27. The stock still hasn’t tested its 10-week moving average after a big run. A pullback and bounce off the key support level would put DocuSign in an alternate buy zone.
In the security software group, recent IPO Rubrik (RBRK) vaulted 25% to above 70 after the company reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $236.2 million, up 43% year over year. Rubrik didn’t show great price action when it went public April 25 at 32 a share. Rather than rally a bit from the IPO price, it immediately started moving sideways. But a 23-week consolidation yielded a powerful breakout during the week of Oct. 11.
Follow Ken Shreve on X @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
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