Dow Jones Slides Ahead Of Fed Minutes; BBBY Stock Skyrockets 45%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply Wednesday ahead of the highly anticipated Fed minutes from the central bank’s latest policy meeting, while U.S. retail sales were weaker than expected. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) surged again Wednesday morning.

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BBBY stock was set to continue its string of torrid gains Wednesday amid revived interest in the meme stock, as shares skyrocketed as much as 45% before slashing gains to 20% in morning trade. Bed Bath & Beyond, a struggling retailer with big losses, is up 355% from a July 27 low of 4.54 through Tuesday’s close.

Key earnings movers Wednesday include Analog Devices (ADI), Lowe’s (LOW), Target (TGT) and TJX (TJX). Meanwhile, Dow Jones stock Cisco Systems (CSCO) will report after the close.

Analog Devices shares dropped more than 4%. Lowe’s stock fell nearly 1%. Target shares declined 4%, while TJX shares traded 1% lower.

Electric-vehicle leader Tesla (TSLA) traded down 1% Wednesday morning. Elsewhere, Dow Jones tech leaders Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were mixed after today’s stock market open.

In the current 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 and Costco were featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Costco stock was added to IBD Leaderboard and SwingTrader in the wake of Tuesday’s breakout move.

Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices

Early Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.55%, on pace to snap a five-day win streak. The S&P 500 moved down 0.7%. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite traded down 1.1% in morning trade.

Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) declined 1%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) lost 0.8% in early trade.

The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher to 2.88% early Wednesday, following Tuesday’s close at 2.79%. The 10-year Treasury yield is rebounding after hitting its lowest level since early April in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil prices inched lower, threatening to extend a four-session losing streak that has left futures down more than 8%. West Texas Intermediate futures traded just above $87 a barrel, at its lowest level since January.

U.S. Retail Sales Miss, Fed Minutes

U.S. retail sales came out at 8:30 a.m. ET. July sales were flat vs. the previous month, missing Econoday estimates that called for a 0.1% rise. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.4% in July. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales climbed 0.7%.

The Federal Reserve releases minutes from its latest meeting at 2 p.m. ET. The minutes are expected to reveal clues into the thoughts of Federal Open Market Committee members regarding potential interest-rate hikes at the upcoming 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.

Stock Market Rally

On Tuesday, the Nasdaq composite fell 1.1% intraday but pared its loss to 0.2% by the closing bell. The S&P 500 was up 0.2%, while the Dow Jones industrials gained 0.7%.

Tuesday’s The Big Picture column commented, “Another resilient performance was good news for the bulls but the stock market is starting to look overbought by at least one indicator. The short term overbought/oversold oscillator (found in MarketSmith by entering NASDQ) is quickly approaching its early-June peak. That’s the last time the Nasdaq showed overbought conditions. The index fell sharply for three straight sessions from June 9-13. For the month, the Nasdaq slumped 9.7%.”

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.

Dow Jones Earnings: Cisco Systems

Networking giant Cisco Systems will report its second-quarter earnings results after the close Wednesday. The Dow Jones stock is expected to earn 82 cents per share on sales of $12.7 billion.

Cisco shares finished Tuesday about 27% off their 52-week high.

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 trying to top the handle entry during Tuesday’s 0.8% gain. The stock inched lower early Wednesday.

Merck also is building a flat base, a pattern that shows a 95.82 buy point. Shares are trying to hold above their 50-day line, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Merck shares rose 0.3% Wednesday.

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 Buy And Watch In The Current Stock Market Rally

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

Lithium producer Albemarle remains in buy range following Friday’s breakout past a large cup with handle with a 273.78 buy point. The 5% buy zone goes up to 287.47. Earlier last week, shares topped a smaller cup with handle with a 250.25 buy point. Shares moved down 1.15% Tuesday, snapping a four-day win streak. The stock was down about 0.4% Wednesday morning. Lithium giant Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) will report after the close.

IBD Leaderboard stock Costco is breaking out past a cup with handle with a 552.81 buy point. The stock rose 1.3% Tuesday, closing just above the latest entry. Shares slipped 0.6% early Wednesday.

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 fell 1.6% Wednesday.

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 9% away from that entry. Shares were 2.8% lower Wednesday morning.

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

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock lost 0.9% Tuesday, ending a two-day win streak. Shares of the EV giant declined 1% Wednesday morning.

This week, shares closed at their 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 stock is about 25% off its 52-week high. The 3-for-1 stock split will occur on Aug. 24.

Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft

Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares edged 0.1% lower Tuesday, as the stock is 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. Shares rose 0.5% Wednesday morning after a pair of price-target hikes.

Microsoft fell 0.3% Tuesday, ending just shy of the long-term 200-day line, which is a key resistance area to watch. The stock moved down 0.4% early 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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