The Dow Jones Industrial Average was moving higher in a mildly positive stock market session. Walt Disney (DIS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) led the blue chips. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic (SPCE) dived as AMC Entertainment (AMC) also plunged.
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Finally, a few stocks tried to stage breakouts. Veeva Systems (VEEV), AbbVie (ABBV) and Janus Henderson (JHG) all flirted with buy points.
Nasdaq Gains, Lags S&P 500
The Nasdaq saw its fortunes improve heading into the close, and was up around 1%. Leaderboard stock Tesla (TSLA) was leading here, posting a gain of more than 4%. Charter Communications (CHTR) lagged, falling around 3%.
The S&P 500 fared better, posting a slim gain of 0.3%. Chemical manufacturer Albemarle (ALB) led with a gain of almost 8%.
The S&P sectors were mostly in the green, with financials and real estate leading. Technology and consumer staples were the only laggards.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 34991.74 | +121.58 | +0.35 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4382.81 | +13.26 | +0.30 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 14719.73 | +17.81 | +0.12 |
| Russell 2000 | (IWM) | 226.53 | +0.15 | +0.07 |
| IBD 50 | (FFTY) | 44.21 | +0.41 | +0.94 |
Last Update: 2:58 PM ET 7/12/2021 |
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Small caps managed to rally back into positive territory, with the Russell 2000 rising a meager 0.1%. Growth stocks were outperforming however, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) up around 1%.
Disney Stock Lifts Dow Jones
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was faring best out of other major indexes, though its 0.3% gain was nothing to write home about.
Disney stock was having a positive day, rising 3.6%. This allowed the media giant to pull away slightly from its 50-day moving average.
Goldman Sachs had earlier been the top performer, but its gain of around 2.5% saw it fall behind Disney. The firm is set to report earnings tomorrow. Salesforce.com (CRM) was the biggest laggard, dipping just over 1%.
Virgin Galactic Stock Plunges On This
Virgin Galactic stock was plunging back to Earth Monday, following its first fully crewed flight during the weekend.
The stock was unable to change course, and saw its decline worsen to almost 18%, but remains well clear of its 50-day moving average. A base has yet to form.
The dip comes after the firm revealed in a regulatory filing that it plans to sell up to $500 million in stock.
Nevertheless, Canaccord Genuity analyst Ken Herbert, who has a buy rating on SPCE stock with a 35 price target, was impressed with the firm’s flight on Sunday, which lifted founder Richard Branson into space.
He said Branson’s achievement “is a massive marketing coup for Virgin Galactic that will be impossible for the public to ignore.”
AMC Stock Dives
Meme stocks were having mixed fortunes, despite the generally positive action.
AMC stock, the hottest name among meme stocks, was slipping lower again. While it was slightly off session lows, it was still down more than 7%. It comes after the stock fell over 11% last week.
While the stock remains up almost 2,000% so far in 2021, it is currently mired in a painful downtrend.
Despite this, big price spikes mean the cinema stock still holds a perfect Relative Strength Rating of 99.
GameStop (GME) slipped lower, giving up around 0.6%. It remains up around 900% for the year.
These Stocks Pass Buy Points
Investment advisory firm Janus Henderson Group is in a buy zone after clearing a flat-base buy point of 40.49. This is a second-stage base, which is a positive.
The relative strength line has just hit a new high, which further bolsters its case. JHG stock has a near-perfect Composite Rating of 97, of 99, which reflects its strong earnings and market performance.
Earnings are due July 29. Investors should remember that IBD recommends using options as a strategy to limit risk. It is a way to capitalize on the upside potential of a stock’s move around earnings, while reducing the downside risk.
Veeva Systems briefly cleared a cup base buy point of 325.64, MarketSmith analysis shows. However the stock has reversed lower, and currently sits below the entry.
Earnings are a key strength for VEEV stock; however stock market performance over the past year is not ideal.
AbbVie came within a hair of rising above a flat base buy point of 118.38, and currently sits just below the entry. Earnings are again a key strength here. Its next report is due July 30, though. This should give investors a reason for caution.