Dow Jones Sells Off As Target Plunges 25% On Earnings

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped Wednesday in the wake of Tuesday’s bullish stock market gains. Retail stocks spearheaded the declines as Target stock plunged 25% on a weak first-quarter report that showed rising costs had eroded profits.

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Doximity (DOCS) and Keysight (KEYS) reported earnings late Tuesday. Analog Devices (ADI), Lowe’s (LOW), Target (TGT) and TJX (TJX) are among the companies that reported Wednesday morning.

DOCS stock tumbled 13%, while Keysight lost more than 1%. Analog fell around 1% as Lowe’s stumbled more than 3%. And TJX jumped more than 9%.

Electric-vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) traded down nearly 3% Wednesday morning. Elsewhere, Dow Jones tech leaders Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) fell 1.5% apiece in today’s stock market.

Amid a new stock market rally, Dow Jones leaders Chevron (CVX) and Merck (MRK) — along with Broadcom (AVGO), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) — are among IBD’s top stocks to watch for Wednesday.

Merck and Microsoft are IBD Leaderboard stocks. Eli Lilly and Merck were featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.

Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices

After Wednesday’s open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.25%, as Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) both swung around 3% lower. The S&P 500 fell 1.55%. And the Nasdaq lost 1.9% in morning trade.

Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 1.6%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) dropped 1.2%.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.98% Wednesday morning after ending Tuesday at 2.96%. The 10-year Treasury yield remains off last week’s 52-week high of 3.16%. Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices rose nearly 2%, with West Texas Intermediate crude trading above $114 a barrel. The price of WTI is at its highest point since late March.

Stock Market Rally Attempt

The major stock indexes posted strong action Tuesday, as the Dow Jones industrials, Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 finished with powerful gains.

Tuesday’s The Big Picture column commented, “Economic data presented Tuesday pointed to hope that the U.S. economy will not go into a recession, despite a new barrage of arrows slung by the Federal Reserve as an effort to slay the beast of inflation. Perhaps this fresh set of data helped ignite a 2.8% rally by the Nasdaq composite.”

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: Chevron, Merck

Dow Jones leader and energy giant Chevron continues to build a flat base with a 174.86 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. CVX shares traded down 0.3% Wednesday, holding tight against their latest buy point.

CVX stock boasts a perfect 99 IBD Composite Rating, per IBD Stock Checkup. Investors can use the IBD Composite Rating to easily gauge the quality of a stock’s fundamental and technical metrics.

Merck, a Dow Jones and drug industry leader, is in buy range above a cup-with-handle’s 89.58 buy point, as shares rallied 0.7% Tuesday. The 5% buy area goes up to 94.06. MRK shares inched lower Wednesday morning.

Positively, the stock’s relative strength line is at new highs, indicating big stock market outperformance during the current stock market correction.

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

Stocks To Watch: Broadcom, Exxon, Eli Lilly

Tuesday’s IBD Stock Of The Day, Broadcom, is building a cup with handle with a 645.41 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. AVGO stock was down around 1.6% Wednesday.

Energy giant Exxon Mobil again broke out past a cup-with-handle’s 89.90 buy point, rising 2.4% Tuesday. Shares are in the 5% buy area that goes up to 94.40. XOM shares edged 0.5% higher Wednesday.

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly rose 0.7% Tuesday. Shares of the IBD Leaderboard stock are rebounding from their 50-day moving average line and are approaching a flat base’s 314.10 buy point. Eli Lilly shares were slightly lower Wednesday.

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

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock raced more than 5% higher Tuesday, nearly recovering from Monday’s big losses. Shares threatened to give up some of those losses Wednesday morning, sliding nearly 3%. Shares remain sharply below their 50- and 200-day moving averages.

The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4 and is more than 39% away from that all-time high.

Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft

Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares rose 2.5% Tuesday. The stock is bouncing but is still far below its long-term 200-day line. Apple shares moved down 1.5% Wednesday.

Software leader Microsoft rose 2% Tuesday, extending a win streak to three sessions, but remains sharply below its 50- and 200-day lines. The stock closed around 24% off its 52-week high. Microsoft stock moved down 1.5% Wednesday.

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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