Dow Jones futures were near the breakeven point Monday, as the stock market threatened to end its six-week win streak. Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) headlines nine of the best stocks to buy and watch in today’s stock market.
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Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy update takes centerstage amid this week’s economic news. The biggest question for investors isn’t what the Fed will say but what markets believe it will do.
As of Friday afternoon, markets are pricing in four quarter-point rate cuts for 2024, with about 50-50 odds of a fifth cut, but Fed projections aren’t likely to go that far.
Further, critical inflation data hits Tuesday morning, with the early release of the Consumer Price Index.
Meanwhile, key earnings reports this week include Adobe (ADBE), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Lennar (LEN) and Oracle (ORCL).
Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields
Ahead of Monday’s opening bell, Dow Jones futures were just a shade on the negative side, as were S&P 500 futures. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures dipped less than 0.1% in premarket action.
Among U.S. exchange traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) lost 0.2%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moved down a fraction early Monday.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond ticked higher to 4.27% Monday morning. On Friday, the benchmark settled at 4.24%, rebounding from its lowest level since early September.
Oil prices threatened to end their two-day bounce Monday, as West Texas Intermediate futures lost nearly 1%. WTI traded below $71 a barrel. Last week, WTI futures hit their lowest level since late June.
Stock Market Rally
The Nasdaq composite turned in a decent 0.5% gain Friday, rising 0.7% for the week. The S&P 500 notched another new high for the year as it gained 0.4%. And the Dow Jones Industrial Average kept pace with the other major indexes on Friday thanks to a 0.4% gain. Aerospace giant Boeing (BA) and financial powerhouse Goldman Sachs (GS) outperformed.
Friday’s Big Picture column commented, “The stock market fought its way out of negative territory Friday to end the session higher following a cautiously optimistic response to the latest jobs report. Now an upcoming decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve looms large.”
Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column amid the continuing stock market rally. Be sure to read how to invest during the ongoing stock market uptrend.
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Stock Market Today: Best Stocks To Buy And Watch
IBD Leaderboard stock Amazon (AMZN), IBD SwingTrader issue Booking (BKNG), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Snowflake (SNOW) — along with Dow Jones components Apple, Boeing, Microsoft (MSFT), UnitedHealth (UNH) and Visa (V) — are among the best stocks to buy and in the current market rally.
Boeing and Cloudflare are featured in this Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
Get Real-time Buy And Sell Alerts On Stock Market Leaders With IBD Leaderboard
Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: Boeing Breaks Out
Aerospace stock Boeing is breaking out past a cup base’s 243.10 buy point, with a 3.1% rally Friday. The 5% buy zone tops out at 255.26. BA stock was down 0.3% Monday.
Health care giant UnitedHealth remains above a handle entry at 546.78 after Friday’s slight gain. UNH stock dipped marginally Monday.
Payments leader Visa continues to trade in buy range above a 250.06 buy point in a cup base, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. V stock edged higher Monday.
4 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Rally
Stocks To Buy And Watch: SNOW Nears Buy Point
IBD Leaderboard stock Amazon continues to trade above cup base’s 145.86 entry, with shares moving further past that buy point Friday amid a 0.4% rise. AMZN stock lost 1% Monday morning.
IBD SwingTrader stock Booking broke out past a 3,207.32 handle entry, with a 2.8% rally Friday. But volume was just above average, so that’s a sign of less-than-ideal institutional demand. BKNG stock rose 0.5% Monday.
Drug giant Eli Lilly continues to trace a flat base with an official buy point at 629.97. An early entry would be in play if the stock is able to bounce strongly from its 50-day line. LLY stock moved up 0.2% Monday morning.
Artificial intelligence leader Snowflake is approaching a cup-with-handle’s 192.66 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. SNOW stock lost 0.3% early Monday.
Best Stocks In Today’s Stock Market Action
These are four best stocks to watch in today’s stock market, including a Dow Jones leader.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct Buy Point | Type Of Buy Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | (AMZN) | 145.86 | Cup base |
| UnitedHealth | (UNH) | 546.78 | Handle entry |
| Booking | (BKNG) | 3,207.32 | Handle entry |
| Snowflake | (SNOW) | 192.66 | Cup with handle |
Source: IBD Data As Of Dec. 11, 2023
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Magnificent Seven Stocks: Nvidia, Tesla
Among the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks, Tesla (TSLA) moved up 0.2% early Monday, while Nvidia (NVDA) climbed 0.4%.
Graphics-chip giant Nvidia rallied 1.95% Friday, as the stock rebounded further from its 50-day line, just below a 476.09 double-bottom entry.
Tesla stock rose 0.5% Friday, extending a win streak to four sessions. TSLA is holding modestly above its 50-day line, which is a key support level to watch. The stock’s big double-bottom pattern has a 278.98 buy point, while an early entry is in play at 252.75.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Two Dow Jones stocks in the Magnificent Seven, Apple and Microsoft, traded lower ahead of today’s stock market open.
Apple rallied 0.7% Friday, closing further above a cup-with-handle entry at 192.93. Apple shares fell 0.4% Monday.
Microsoft stock rose 0.9% Friday, further recovering from recent losses. MSFT is above a cup base’s 366.78 buy point and in buy range. And the software stock was down 1% Monday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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