Dow Jones rallies as Facebook soars 18% on earnings; Apple revenue due

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied on Thursday after Wednesday’s stock market rebound failed. Tech giant Metaplatforms (Facebook) soared more than 18%. Meanwhile, PayPal (PYPL), Qualcomm (COMQ) and Twitter (TWTR) were the main drivers of earnings early Thursday. Apple’s earnings are due after closing.

Dow Jones Stocks caterpillar (CAT) and McDonald’s (MCD) reported earnings before the market opened on Thursday. Dow stock Amgen (AMGN) filed its earnings report on Wednesday evening.

Stock market today: Facebook takes off
Facebook Parent Meta-Platforms Reported first quarter results better than expected late Wednesday, but did not reach earnings. FB shares soared more than 18% in morning trading.

PayPal hits Wall Street earnings and sales targets, triggering a 4.5% rise in early morning trading. Qualcomm crushed views of wall street for its second fiscal quarter and guided higher for the current period. QCOM shares jumped around 8%.

Twitter released its quarterly results, sending shares up around 1% on Thursday morning. And the electric vehicle giant You’re here (TSLA) rebounded around 1% on Thursday morning.

From Dow Jones Leaders, Apple (AAPL) rose more than 2% before the publication of its results, and Microsoft increased by 0.7% in stock market today.

In the midst of another stock market correction, the leader of the Dow Jones American Express (AXP) – in the same way Expedia (EXPE), Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and IBD classification watch list stock World wrestling entertainment (WWE) – are among the best Thursday stocks to watch.

Microsoft and Tesla are IBD classification shares. Expedia and Palo Alto Networks have been Featured in this week Stocks near a buy zone column.

Dow Jones Today: Treasury Yields, Oil Prices
After Thursday’s open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.9%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are each sitting on three straight weekly losses.

Among exchange traded fundsthe Nasdaq 100 Invesco QQQ Trust tracker (QQQ) increased by 1.9%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (TO SPY) increased by 1.3%.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.85% on Thursday, after closing Wednesday at 2.81%. Last week, the 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since December 2018. Meanwhile, US oil prices fell, with Texas Intermediate crude trading below $102 a barrel.

US GDP and weekly jobless claims were released at 8:30 a.m. ET. First-quarter GDP unexpectedly declined 1.4% in the first quarter from 6.9% growth in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims fell to 180,000 from 184,000 the previous week.

Stock market correction
On Wednesday, the major equity indices gave up strong gains to end mixed and far from their intraday highs.

What happens next is unclear. As the market heads into the final sessions of April, a bounce could kick off another new rally attempt. But with the three major indexes looking at losses that deepen the stock market correction, investors need to be on the defensive.

This means taking profits and raising funds. Additionally, keeping a watchlist of stocks that hold up well in a bear market is a good way to prepare for the next uptrend in the stock market.

Finding the leaders of the next uptrend as the market continues to correct is a challenge. A useful method is to use a stock relative force line. The RS line measures a stock’s price performance relative to the S&P 500. If the stock is outperforming the broader market, the RS line slopes up. If a stock is performing worse than the broader market, the line will point down.

Wednesday’s Big Picture column commented: “The S&P 500 ended up giving up most of its gains, although it closed 0.2% higher. The failure to defend the 4,200 level was disappointing, considering he spent most of the day on top. S&P sectors closed mixed, with materials and energy being the big winners. Communication services were by far the worst laggards.”

If you’re new to IBD, consider taking a look at its stock trading system and The basics of CAN SLIM. To acknowledge chart templates is one of the key investment guidelines. IBD offers a wide range of growth stock listsas Ranking and Swing Trader.

Investors can also create watchlists, find companies close to a point of purchaseor develop custom screens on IBD MarketSmith.

Dow Jones earnings: Amgen, Caterpillar, McDonald’s
Dow Jones Caterpillar and McDonald’s stocks reported earnings ahead of Thursday’s open. Amgen reported Wednesday evening.

Caterpillar beat first-quarter profit and sales targets, but shares still fell nearly 4% in morning trading. CAT shares are trying to find support around their 50-day line following a failed breakout move past a buy point of 227.15.

McDonald’s stock rebounded around 1% after the release first quarter results better than expected. Stocks are building the right side of a new base, but closed below their 200-day line on Wednesday.

Amgen announced strong first quarter results, but weak forecasts sent stocks down more than 5%. Amgen shares are charting a cup with handle that has a buy point of 258.55.

Dow Jones Stocks to Watch: American Express
Dow Jones financial stock American Express ended lower than its 50-day line on Wednesday and about 8% from the buying point of 194.45 a cup with handle after the 0.6% drop. of Wednesday. AXP shares rose 1.2% on Thursday morning.

Keep an eye on inventory relative line of force. Amid its recent rise, the RS range is beginning to approach its former highs, which means it is outperforming the overall market again.

Stocks to Watch: Expedia, Palo Alto, WWE
IBD Stock for ThursdayExpedia, continues to build a cup with handle with a purchase point of 204.08, according to IBD MarketSmith graphical analysis. Stocks remain below their 50-day line after rising 2.2% on Wednesday. EXPE action shows a 92 out of a perfect IBD composite score of 99, according to the IBD Stock Check. The shares rose 0.9% on Thursday morning.

Leading cybersecurity stock Palo Alto Networks closed just at the 50-day line after two straight days of losses. PANW stock rose nearly 1% early Thursday.

IBD classification watchlist stock World Wrestling Entertainment is also testing its 50-day moving average, down 1.7% on Wednesday. Stocks are just below a buy point of 60.94 in a handle cup. WWE stock was slightly lower on Thursday morning.

Tesla Stock
Tesla stock rebounded more than 1% on Thursday morning after the stock fell through its 50- and 200-day moving averages in Tuesday’s 12.2% drop.

Shares of the electric vehicle giant ended Wednesday about 24% off the 1,152.97 buy point of a cup with handle. The stock traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4 and is about 30% off that all-time high.

Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft
Among Dow Jones Stocks, Apple shares dropped support at its long-term 200-day line, slipping 3.7% on Wednesday. Shares rose more than 2% on Thursday morning. Apple’s earnings are expected after the close. The iPhone maker is expected to earn $1.42 per share on sales of $94 billion.

Software leader Microsoft jumped nearly 5% on Wednesday but still remains below its 50- and 200-day lines. The stock closed around 20% off its 52-week high. MSFT shares rebounded 0.7% early Thursday.

Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen to learn more about growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Top growth stocks to buy and watch

Learn to Time the Market with IBD’s ETF Market Strategy

Find the best long-term investments with IBD’s long-term leaders

MarketSmith: research, charts, data and coaching in one place

How to Research Growth Stocks: Why This IBD Tool Simplifies Finding the Best Stocks