Dow Jones Futures Fall On March Jobs Report; Tesla Stock Skids On Price Cuts

Dow Jones futures fell Monday morning after Friday’s March jobs report. Tesla stock skidded more than 2% after the company lowered the prices on its vehicles in the U.S. again on Friday. And Apple stock dropped after its PC shipments dropped 40% in the first quarter.

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On Friday, the March jobs report slightly missed Wall Street’s 240,000 forecast, with employers adding 236,000 jobs. The average hourly wage rose 0.3% on the month, as expected. Annual wage growth of 4.2% undershot expectations of 4.3%. The unemployment rate slipped to 3.5% vs. expectations of 3.6%. The labor force participation rate edged up to 62.6%.

On the economic front this week, inflation data is due out mid-week, with the release of the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index. U.S. retail sales are due out Friday.

Meanwhile, first-quarter earnings season starts off with JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) and PNC Financial (PNC) kicking off bank earnings. And Delta Air Lines (DAL) and UnitedHealth (UNH) are the first airline and health insurer, respectively, to report for the first quarter.

Stock Market Today

Electric-vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) moved down 2.5% Monday premarket. Dow Jones tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were lower ahead of today’s stock market open.

IBD Leaderboard stock Axon Enterprise (AXON), ServiceNow (NOW) and Visa (V) — as well as Dow Jones stocks Boeing (BA), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Nike (NKE) — are among the top stocks to buy and watch with the ongoing market strength.

Boeing was featured in last week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Axon, Microsoft and Visa were all recent IBD Stock Of The Day subjects.

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Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields

Ahead of Monday’s opening bell, Dow Jones futures fell 0.4% vs. fair value, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.5%. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 0.8% in morning action.

Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) retreated 0.6%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 0.3% early Monday.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield on Monday traded at 3.36%. Last week, the 10-year yield hit at its lowest level since mid-September.

U.S. oil prices paused after last week’s big gains, edging higher in early morning trade Monday. West Texas Intermediate futures traded just below $81 a barrel.

Stock Market Rally

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher, taking its weekly gain to 0.6%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.4%, with the index down just 0.1% this week. Finally, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rallied 0.8% but shed 1.1% on the week, ending a recent leadership streak.

Thursday’s Big Picture column commented, “Despite this week’s Nasdaq losses, the market outlook remains in a confirmed uptrend, which means investors continue to have the green light to buy breakout stocks. IBD’s recommended exposure currently sits at 40% to 60%, but weakness in growth and other leading stocks in recent sessions is concerning.”

Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column with the stock market in an uptrend.

Five Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch Now

Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch: Boeing, Cisco Systems, Nike

Dow Jones leader Boeing is nearing a flat base’s 221.43 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. Shares rose 0.65% Thursday, holding above their 50-day line. BA stock fell 0.4% early Monday.

Cisco Systems gave up a flat base’s 51.84 buy point during Thursday’s 1.1% drop. Bullishly, the stock’s relative strength line hit a new high in recent weeks, a sign of market outperformance. Shares rose 0.2% Monday.

Nike shares continue to see stout resistance around their 50-day line, falling 0.6% Thursday. They continue to trace a flat base that has a 131.41 buy point. An early entry at 126.16 is also in play. NKE stock was unchanged Monday.

4 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Rally

Top Stocks To Buy And Watch: Axon, ServiceNow, Visa

IBD Leaderboard stock Axon is still below a 226.10 buy point Thursday in a short consolidation despite a 1.1% rise. Meanwhile, it also just beneath an early entry at 221.79, above the March 21 high. AXON stock was up slightly Monday.

Backstory: Axon’s products are considered key for law enforcement, helping to build public trust. Meanwhile, its cloud-based software for managing police evidence, records and communications is geared to make officers more productive.

IBD SwingTrader pick ServiceNow continues to move up the right side of a cup base with 494.72 buy point amid Thursday’s 1.2% rally, which could be a part of a potential handle. NOW stock rose 0.2% early Monday.

Backstory: NOW software tracks and manages services provided by information-technology departments. Also, its self-service tech portal enables workers to access administrative and workflow tools. In the latest quarter, the Santa Clara, Calif-based enterprise software maker said earnings jumped 56% to $2.28 per adjusted share. Revenue climbed 20% to $1.94 billion.

Visa shares fell 1% Thursday, still holding above their 50-day line. The stock continues to form a cup base with a 234.40 buy point. V stock was unchanged Monday morning.

Backstory: Visa was unfazed by the recent banking crisis sparked by SVB Financial’s Silicon Valley Bank. The bank failure sent shock waves through financial markets, forcing regulators to scramble for emergency relief and prompting calls for stricter legislation for the industry. Midsize banks bore the brunt of losses during the March mayhem, while credit card companies like Mastercard (MA) and American Express (AXP) faced more modest declines.

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Stocks To Buy And Watch In Stock Market Rally

These are four top stocks to watch in today’s stock market, including two Dow Jones leaders.

Source: IBD Data As Of April 10, 2023

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

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock fell another 0.25% Thursday, extending a losing streak to four session and finishing with a weekly loss of 10.8%. Last week, shares triggered the 7%-8% loss rule from a buy point at 200.76 in a cup with handle. And they fell sharply below their 50-day line, a key support level. The stock closed Thursday 52% off its 52-week high.

TSLA stock dropped 2.5% Monday morning after Tesla reduced U.S. prices on its Model S and Model X vehicles by $5,000 each to $84,990 and $94,990 for the base models, respectively. The company also lowered the price on its Model 3 sedan and some Model Y crossovers.

Meanwhile, the EV giant announced it is building a factory in Shanghai to produce its Megapack battery.

Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft

Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares gained 0.55% Thursday, ending a two-day slide. Shares remain near their highest level since August. AAPL stock fell 1.2% Monday after IDC data showed that Apple’s PC shipments fell more than 40% in the first quarter.

Microsoft shares moved out of buy range past a flat base’s 276.86 buy point, with a 2.55% rally Thursday. The stock is just out of the 5% buy area that went from the buy point to 290.70. MSFT stock moved down 0.5% early Monday.

Microsoft shares surged earlier this month after the company announced that it is adding artificial intelligence tools to its popular Office productivity applications suite. That follows the company’s investments in artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, the firm behind the buzzworthy ChatGPT application.

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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