Dow Jones futures reversed lower on Friday morning after Thursday’s stock market selloff as investors digested a stronger-than-expected jobs report from the Labor Department. SVB Financial (SIVB), holding company of Silicon Valley Bank, slumped another 66% on Friday morning on growing fears of a bank run.
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Late Thursday, Bloomberg reported that venture capital funds, including founding fund Peter Thiel, were advising their portfolio companies to withdraw their money from Silicon Valley Bank. Friday’s early plunge follows Thursday’s 60% crash that sent stocks near their lowest level since September 2016.
A pivotal jobs report from the Labor Department showed the US economy added 311,000 jobs in February, more than expected, with an unemployment rate of 3.6%, above estimates. Econoday estimates predicted 220,000 nonfarm payrolls in February, with an unemployment rate of 3.4%.
On the earnings side, DocuSign (DOCU), Gap (GPS), Oracle (ORCL) and Ultimate beauty (ULTA) were on the move Friday morning.
DocuSign fell 14% after the company announced CFO Cynthia Gaylor was leaving the company. The e-signature provider reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results. Gap plunged 7% after the company’s fourth quarter results.
Oracle sold 4.54% on mixed results in the fourth quarter. Finally, Ulta shares fell nearly 2% on Friday morning after reporting a comparable sales forecast that fell below expectations. The company beat fourth-quarter earnings and sales estimates.
stock market today
VE Giant You’re here (TSLA) was trading down 1% on Friday morning. Dow Jones tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were down slightly before the stock market opened.
IBD Ranking Watchlist Stock Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and New relic (NEWR) – as well as Dow Jones stocks American Express (AXP) and Selling power (CRM) – are among the most important stocks to watch in a difficult stock market recovery.
Palo Alto is an IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock. New Relic was recently an IBD Stock of the Day. And Salesforce was featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column.
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Dow Jones Today: Oil Price, Treasury Yields
Before Friday’s market open, Dow Jones futures were down 0.1% from fair value, and S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5% in morning action.
Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.5% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained 0.1% early Friday.
The 10-year US Treasury yield fell to 3.92% on Thursday. Then on Friday, the 10-year yield plunged to 3.77% after the jobs report.
Oil prices continued to slide Friday morning after three days of losses, with West Texas Intermediate futures dropping about 1%. WTI futures traded just below $75 a barrel early Friday.
Stock market rally
On Thursday, the stock market sold off sharply as the main stock index ended with big losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7% and the S&P 500 fell 1.85%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.05%.
Thursday’s Big Picture column commented: “The stock market sold off sharply despite a surprise rise in weekly jobless claims, as investors pulled back ahead of Friday’s pivotal February jobs report. The S&P 500 has fallen below its 50-day support level.”
Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column amid the struggling stock market rally.
Five Dow Jones Stocks to Buy and Watch Now
Dow Jones stocks to watch: American Express, Salesforce
American Express moves further away from a buy point of 182.25 in a giant cup with handle amid a four-day losing streak, according to IBD MarketSmith’s chart analysis. On the upside, the stock’s relative strength line remains near its highs, a particularly positive sign in a difficult market environment. AXP stock fell slightly on Friday morning.
The JPM stock is posting a 92 out of a perfect IBD composite rating of 99, according to the IBD stock balance sheet. The composite rating is designed to help investors easily find the highest growth stocks.
Last week, Dow Jones leader Salesforce staged a bullish spread beyond a buy point of 178.94 on strong fourth-quarter results. But the breakout gains have disappeared and stocks are back below their buy point. Still, the stock’s recent strength is reason to watch the software leader in upcoming sessions. CRM stock lost 0.3% on Friday.
4 best growth stocks to buy and watch in the market Stock market rally
Top Stocks to Buy and Watch: Palo Alto, New Relic
Palo Alto Networks continues to trade quietly in the hilt after the stock rose 12.5% on Feb. 22. Stocks remain within striking distance of the 193.01 buy point of a base. PANW stock was trading down 0.2% on Friday morning.
Pass: On February 21, the cybersecurity giant announced strong results for the quarter ended January, which saw earnings hit $1.05 per share, up 81% from a year earlier, with an increase 26% of its revenue to $1.7 billion.
The recent IBD Stock Of The Day, New Relic, is working on a flat basis with a buy point of 80.98 following the February 8 earnings fueled surge. NEWR stock was down 0.7% on Friday.
Backstory: New Relic provides a suite of cloud-based software products that enables organizations to collect, store and analyze massive amounts of data in real time. Customers gain increased visibility into their enterprise software to help them make data-driven decisions.
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Stocks to watch in the stock market rally
These are the top five stocks to watch in today’s stock market, including two leaders from the Dow Jones.
| Company Name | Symbol | Correct point of purchase | Point of purchase type |
|---|---|---|---|
| New relic | (NEW) | 80.98 | Flat bottom |
| American Express | (AXP) | 182.25 | Mug with handle |
| Palo Alto Networks | (PANW) | 193.01 | Consolidation |
| JP Morgan | (JMP) | 138.76 | Flat bottom |
| Selling power | (RCMP) | 178.94 | Mug with handle |
Source: IBD data as of March 9, 2023
Join IBD experts as they analyze the top stocks of the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock slipped another 5% on Thursday, falling for a fourth straight day. Shares are on course to fall more than 12% this week and closed Thursday about 55% off their 52-week high.
Tesla shares rose 1% on Friday morning, looking to rebound from Thursday’s losses.
Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares were down 1.5% on Thursday, and are expected to end the week with a slight loss. The stock fell 0.35% early Friday.
Microsoft shares extended a losing streak to three sessions, falling 0.5% on Thursday. The stock is still around 20% off its 52-week high after recent declines. MSFT stock was down 0.5% on Friday morning.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen to learn more about growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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