Dow Jones Rises After Surprise Fall In Jobless Claims. Meta Surges, But This Hot AI Stock Crashes 30%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Thursday morning, following a surprise drop in first-quarter GDP and the Labor Department's data for first-time jobless claims. Meta Platforms, a subsidiary of Facebook (META), rose 14% after reporting earnings. Mobileye, a leading AI stock (MBLY), fell as much as 30 percent following re-evaluation of its full-year forecast. Amazon (AMZN), which reports after the closing, will also report.

The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 230,000. It was expected that they would rise to 249,000, compared to 245,000 the week before. The first-quarter GDP growth rate slowed down to 1.1% compared to the expected 2% annualized rate of growth.

Meta stock soared by 14% on Thursday after it easily beat Wall Street's projections for the first quarter and issued bullish sales guidance.

Mobileye, the artificial intelligence stock, has dropped as much as 30 percent after it cut its outlook for the full year. The company cited issues with China's market as a reason.

Align Technology (ALGN), Caterpillar CAT, Impinj PI, Merck MRK (MRK), Roku ROKU and ServiceNow NOW are also key earners.

Align shares fell more than 8%, despite better-than expected earnings and sales estimates for the first quarter. CAT stock dropped nearly 5% during morning trading.

Impinj, a hot chip stock, missed Wall Street's earnings target but exceeded estimates for sales for the first quarter. The company's outlook was also well below expectations for the current period. The Impinj shares fell by 30% in the early trading.

Merck, a Dow Jones company that makes drugs, rose 1% following a positive first-quarter profit report. Roku exceeded expectations for its first-quarter earnings, as it gained more viewers than anticipated. ROKU's stock fell by nearly 4%.

ServiceNow shares fell more than 5%, even though the company's first-quarter results were far superior to analyst expectations. Revenue also exceeded analyst expectations.

Stock Market Today

Crocs, InMode, Las Vegas Sands and Lululemon Athletica are all stocks worth watching in this current stock market rally.

Nike is featured.

Dow Jones Today - Oil Prices and Treasury Yields

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% after Thursday's opening, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.9%. This is because the uptrend has been under pressure since the beginning of this week. In morning trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced by 1.2%. Meta stock led the index.

The Nasdaq-100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust, (QQQ), rose 0.9% while the SPDR S&P500 ETF, (SPY), traded 0.6% higher on Thursday morning.

On Thursday, the 10-year U.S. Treasury rate traded at 3.49%. The 10-year Treasury yield will continue to fall sharply this week, but it is still well off its lows from early April.

U.S. crude oil prices rose modestly Thursday morning following a steep drop on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate futures are still below $75 per barrel. They have fallen from a high of $83 a barge on April 12, and they trade near their average price for the year.

Stock Market Rally Struggles

Home Depot (HD), one of the biggest losers on Wednesday, fell by 0.7%. HD shares fell 2.8% and closed 17% below their 52-week high.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% while the Nasdaq composite, which is dominated by tech, rose 0.5%. This was boosted by Microsoft's 7.2% earnings surge. Tuesday, the market status changed from "confirmed upward trend" to "uptrend with pressure", suggesting that investors are taking a more cautious approach.

The Big Picture column on Wednesday warned that despite the small gains of Wednesday, regional banks, led by First Republic Bank, look scary. The SPDR Regional Bank ETF KRE hit a new low more than two years earlier, warning of the growing financial contagion fear.

Dow Jones Stocks to Buy and Watch: JPMorgan Nike Visa

JPMorgan's shares fell 1.8% on Wednesday, closing at the 50-day line. According to IBD MarketSmith pattern detection, shares are tracking a cup with handle buy point at 141.88. JPM's stock rose by 0.9% on Thursday morning.

Nike shares fell 0.7% on Wednesday. They are still above the 50-day line, and only 4% from a cup with handle's buy point of 127.59. NKE shares rose 0.5% early in the day.

Visa shares fell 0.6% on Wednesday, closing further below the 230.15 cup with handle buy point. Early morning trading on Thursday saw And V stock move lower.

Crocs InMode: Best Stocks to Buy and Watch

Crocs shares recovered 1.7% on Wednesday after a sharp drop Tuesday. According to IBD MarketSmith, CROX continues to hold above the 143.60 cup base buy point. The 5% range is up to $150.78. CROX shares fell more than 10% in the early morning trading on Thursday after the company announced its first-quarter earnings.

Backstory: Broomfield-based Crocs, best known for their rubbery casual shoes, is headquartered in Colorado. In recent years, the company expanded its Crocs portfolio beyond classic slip-ons to include sneakers, wedges, boots and sandals. Crocs accounts for around 75%.

InMode ended Wednesday with a 0.5% gain, just short of the 38.48 cup-with handle buy point. INMD's stock rose by 0.5% on Thursday morning.

Backstory: The firm makes noninvasive platforms to tighten skin and eliminate fat cells. The company is also expanding into women's healthcare with its gynecological products. UBS analyst Danielle Antalffy believes InMode is a cheaper alternative to traditional cosmetic surgery.

Las Vegas Sands, Lululemon

Las Vegas Sands, the IBD Leaderboard's stock, remains in the 5 percent buy range above 60.40 in a cup-with-handle despite Wednesday’s 1% drop. The top of the buy zone is 63.42. LVS's stock price was down by 0.6% on Thursday morning.

Backstory: Las Vegas Sands announced last week that it had surpassed earnings estimates for the first three months of this year and indicated a "robust" recovery in China's Macau gambling hub. The casino stock reported earnings of 28 cents, up from 40 cents in net losses a year earlier. Revenue soared by nearly 125%, to $2.12 Billion.

Lululemon holds a 371.36 position in a cup-with-handle, despite a slight increase on Wednesday. The shares were up by 0.7% on Thursday morning.

Lululemon raised its 2023 guidance on March 28 after exceeding earnings and revenue expectations for the fourth quarter holiday season. This sparked a 12.7% increase on March 29. The retailer of yogawear and athleisure clothing's final results for the fourth quarter also exceeded their own preliminary announcement from early January.

JPMorgan (JPM), 141.88 Cup, with Handle

Source: IBD data as of April 26, 2023

Tesla Stock

Tesla's stock fell 4.3% on Wednesday and closed at its lowest price since January 25. In recent weeks shares have triggered the loss rule of 7%-8% from a purchase point at 200.76 on a cup handle. They are also trading below the 50-day line – a critical level. The stock closed at a 54% discount to its 52-week peak on Wednesday.

TSLA's stock traded up over 1% on Thursday, a rebound from the losses of Wednesday.

Dow Jones Leaders - Apple and Microsoft

Apple shares fell for the second consecutive day, among Dow Jones stocks. Apple shares remain above the 157.48 buying point, and are at the top end of the range for the purchase price that goes up to 165.35. AAPL rose by 1.1% on Thursday. Apple will report its fiscal second quarter results on Thursday, May 4.

Microsoft shares soared past the 276.86 purchase point of a flat-base during Wednesday's 7.2% rise, which was fueled by earnings. The 5% buying area increased to 290.70. MSFT's stock rose 0.4% on Thursday morning.