Dow Jones Futures Fall: Fed Minutes, Home Depot, Walmart Earnings Up Next

Dow Jones futures were lower after Monday’s stock market action. Dow Jones stocks Home Depot (HD) and Walmart (WMT) will report ahead of Tuesday’s open followed by key economic data — Fed minutes and U.S. retail sales — on Wednesday.

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Fabrinet (FN) and ZipRecruiter (ZIP) were key earnings movers after the close Monday. Fabrinet shares surged 12%, while ZipRecruiter shares declined 5% in extended trade.

Dow Jones Earnings: Home Depot, Walmart

Home improvement retailer Home Depot will report its Q2 results early Tuesday. Analysts expect the company to earn $4.95 a share on sales of $43.3 billion. HD shares closed Monday about 25% off its 52-week high.

Discount retailer Walmart extended a win streak to seven sessions Monday, rising 0.3%. Walmart Q2 earnings are expected to fall 9% year over year to $1.62 per share on revenue of $150.9 billion.

Stock Market Today

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.45%, while the S&P 500 moved up 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%, extending Friday’s gains.

Among exchange traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rallied 0.8%, and SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) rose 0.4%.

EV giant Tesla (TSLA) raced 3.1% higher Monday. Among Dow Jones leaders, Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) rose 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, in today’s stock market.

In the healthy stock market environment, Dow Jones stocks Coca-Cola (KO) and Merck (MRK) — as well as Albemarle (ALB), Costco (COST), Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI) — are among the top stocks to buy and watch.

Albemarle is an IBD Leaderboard stock. Albemarle and Costco were featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.

Dow Jones Futures Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices, Fed Minutes

Ahead of Tuesday’s open, Dow Jones futures, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were each down 0.1% vs. fair value. Remember that overnight action in Dow Jones futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

The 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower Monday, closing at 2.79% and extending Friday’s losses. In early August, the 10-year yield hit its lowest level since early April, but is now trying to rebound. Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices tumbled more than 3%, with West Texas Intermediate futures trading below $89 per barrel.

The Federal Reserve’s minutes from its latest meeting are due out Wednesday morning. The minutes will likely reveal clues into the central bank’s thoughts on potential interest-rate hikes at the September meeting. At the most recent Fed meeting, the central bank delivered a 75-basis-point rate hike for the second straight meeting, and Fed chair Jerome Powell indicated a third such hike “could be appropriate” in September.

What To Do In The Current Stock Market Rally

The stock market rally remains healthy, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average on a four-day win streak. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 index shrugged off Thursday’s downside reversal and have risen two straight sessions.

With the market showing signs of strength, investors have the green light to increase exposure, but keep positions small to start. If a new buy makes progress, increase exposure methodically. There’s still plenty of uncertainty for the stock market to navigate, so having a fair amount of cash on hand still makes sense.

Friday’s The Big Picture column commented, “The stock market roared to cap its fourth straight up week Friday. Indexes punched their way higher again, with encouraging inflation data emboldening the bulls.”

If you’re new to IBD, consider taking a look at its stock trading system and CAN SLIM basics. Recognizing chart patterns is one key to the investment guidelines. IBD offers a broad range of growth-stock lists, such as Leaderboard and SwingTrader.

Investors also can create watchlists, find companies nearing a buy point, or develop custom screens at IBD MarketSmith.

Five Dow Jones Stocks To Watch Now

Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: Coca-Cola, Merck

Dow Jones soda giant Coca Cola is building a flat base that has a 67.30 buy point. A handle entry at 65.14 is also in play. Shares are rebounding from their 50-day line and nearing the early entry amid Monday’s 1.3% rally.

Merck is also building a flat base, a pattern that shows a 95.82 buy point. Shares are trying to hold above their 50-day line amid Monday’s 0.5% decline, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis.

MRK stock shows a solid 94 out of a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating, per the IBD Stock Checkup. Investors can use the IBD Composite Rating to easily gauge the quality of a stock’s fundamental and technical metrics.

4 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally

Top Stocks To Watch: Albemarle, Costco, Monolithic, Ollie’s

IBD Leaderboard stock and lithium producer Albemarle is in buy range following Friday’s breakout past a large cup with handle’s 273.78 buy point. The 5% buy zone goes up to 287.47. Earlier last week, shares topped a smaller cup with handle’s 250.25 buy point. Shares moved up 0.9% Monday, extending a win streak to four sessions.

Retail giant Costco is building a cup with handle that shows a 552.81 buy point. The stock rose 1.6% Monday and is about 3% away from the latest entry.

Recent IBD Stock Of The Day Monolithic Power Systems added a handle to a cup base last week, moving the correct buy point from 580.10 to 541.49. Meanwhile, shares remain above a 514.80 entry. The stock was up 1.7% Monday.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is rebounding from its 10-week line — a critical support level — placing the top discount retailer in a new buy zone. Shares are also carving a handle after a large cup base, putting the latest buy point at 72.37. Current price action is about 10% away from that entry. Shares lost 0.4% Monday.

Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market rally on IBD Live

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock climbed 3.1% Monday, closing at its highest level since May 4. Shares are trying to again decisively rise above resistance around their 200-day line, which is a key level to watch. The 3-for-1 stock split will occur on Aug. 24.

The stock is about 25% off its 52-week high.

Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft

Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares climbed 0.6% Monday, rising for a second-straight day. The stock continues to build the right side of a cup base that has a 179.71 buy point. Another interpretation could be a large double bottom that spans back to January. Either way, the buy point is identical. Keep an eye out for a potential handle to form and offer a lower entry.

Bullishly, the stock’s relative strength line is already at new highs, indicating big stock market outperformance.

Microsoft gained 0.5% Monday, closing just below its long-term 200-day line, which is a key resistance area to watch. The stock ended about 16% off its 52-week high.

Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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