Dow futures fell on Wednesday morning, as Chinese markets came under mounting pressure and minutes before the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting in July. Meanwhile, Tesla shares slid after the electric car giant cut prices in China for the second time in less than a week.
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The Fed’s meeting minutes, scheduled for release at 2pm ET, are expected to provide insight into the Fed’s thinking about future interest rates.
Before the market opened, the Department of Commerce released numbers on starting housing and permits. Housing starts increased in July to 1.452 million while permits increased by 1.442 million. Both came in with ratings of just under 1.455 million and 1.464 million, respectively.
Elsewhere, Asian markets came under pressure on Wednesday after mounting defaults of China’s Zhongrong International Trust. The bank is seen as a pillar of the financial sector in the country’s huge and unregulated shadow banking sector. Zhongrong has no immediate plan to cover what are now dozens of defaulted payments, as its short-term liquidity pool has suddenly dried up, according to a company official quoted by Bloomberg.
Early Wednesday in the United States, China-based stocks led early declines in the Nasdaq 100. JD.com (Dinar) And Tencent Holdings (Czech Republic) earnings have been reported. Another major driver of earnings reward (CAVA), coherent (COHR), Goal (TGT) And TJX (TJX).
Cava was up 8.6% in early morning trading, while Coherent was down nearly 22%. JD shares are down nearly 5%, with TJX up 2% in pre-market activity.
Tesla lowers prices
IBD Stock Leaderboard Tesla (TSLA) slid another 2.8% on Tuesday, to close further below the 50-day line. Amidst the ongoing selling, the stock clearly needs more time to consolidate before a new entry.
TSLA stock threatened to extend losses on Tuesday, falling more than 2% on Wednesday morning.
Tesla lowered the price of the Model S luxury sedan in China to 754,900 yuan, or $103,463 in US currency, from 808,900 yuan, according to Barron’s. It also cut the price of its Model X SUV to 836,900 yuan, or $114,702, from 898,900 yuan.
The electric car giant fell 2.2% early Wednesday.
stock market today
Dow Jones technology icons apple (AAPL) And Microsoft (MSFT) was up by a fraction before the stock market opened today.
Includes other stock market leaders the alphabet (Google), Meta platforms (meta) And nvidia (NVDA). GOOGL stock was down, while Meta stock was down 0.3% in early trade. Finally, Nvidia shares rose 0.7% after a higher price target. Raymond James and Piper Sandler have both raised their price target to 500.
Costco wholesale (it costs), the previous (XPRO), slb (slb) And Free market (millie) – as well as Dow Jones shares Boeing (Bachelor’s), Intel (INTC) And visa (Fifth) – Among the best stocks to watch as the market’s upside is under increasing pressure.
Tesla and Costco are IBD Leaderboard stocks, while Boeing and SLB were recently IBD Stock Picks Of The Day. Costco appeared in the stock column near the buy area. SLB is also an IBD SwingTrader stock.
Finally, Target rose more than 8% after the company handily beat earnings estimates. Reported earnings target of $1.80 per share for the quarter, compared to 39 cents per share last year. The results indicate a significant turnaround after declining profits in the past five quarters. Sales fell for the first time in nearly six years as total revenue fell 4.9% to $24.8 billion.
Dow jones today: oil prices and treasury yields
Before the opening bell on Wednesday, Dow futures were down 0.2% against fair value. S&P 500 futures also lost 0.2%, while high-tech Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.25% in morning trading.
Among the US ETFs, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ(down 0.25%, SPDR S&P 500 ETF down)spy) fell 0.2% early Wednesday.
Early Wednesday, the 10-year US Treasury yield rose to 4.18%, after settling at 4.22% on Tuesday.
WTI prices have retreated from their early August highs, with WTI futures trading by a fraction of the dollar to just over $81 a barrel. This puts them even for about the course of the month, as the $80 mark becomes the important indicator of support. Weekly inventory data from the Energy Information Administration is due at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Stock market action
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sold 1%, while the Standard & Poor’s lost 1.2%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1%.
The Big Picture column commented on Tuesday, “Technically speaking, that’s really helpful. A large swing below the 50-day line suggests that institutional investors aren’t enthusiastic about piling stocks amid the pullback to the lows. Still, at least on Tuesday, the index crept quietly below the line.” instead of diving under it.
Now is an important time to read IBD’s Big Picture column as the stock market continues to retreat from its highs for the year.
The five best Dow stocks to buy and watch right now
Dow Jones shares: Boeing, Intel, Visa
Aerospace giant Boeing has erupted in recent weeks, eclipsing its entry point with a flat base of 223.91. Shares returned to the 5% buy zone which rose to 235.11, after Tuesday’s drop of 1.9%. BA shares fell 0.1% Wednesday morning.
Chip giant Intel continues to dig a handle on the base of a teacup, offering 37.19 buy points. Shares are rebounding from the 50-day line, about 6% off their most recent entry, with a 2.55% drop on Tuesday. Intel shares rose on Wednesday.
Visa, the payments leader at Dow Jones, continues to hold a buy range above 235.57 fixed-base buy points, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. V stock was unchanged early Wednesday.
4 growth stocks to buy and watch Stock market rise
Stocks to watch: Expro, SLB, MercadoLibre, Costco
Offshore drilling services provider Expro extended its losing streak to three sessions on Tuesday. According to IBD MarketSmith, the recent break above 23.72 buy points at the base of a cup with a handle is fading. XPRO stock was inactive Wednesday morning.
Energy giant SLB, formerly Schlumberger, shed its 58.70 points long in a cup with handle with a 2% drop on Tuesday. SLB stock drifted slightly lower early Wednesday.
MercadoLibre jumped last week, breaching the cup base, 1,365.64 buy points. But MELI stock is sharply below the buy point, falling another 0.8% on Tuesday. MELI stock is getting close to triggering the sell rule by 7%. Shares fell 0.4% on Wednesday.
Among IBD Leaderboard stocks, Costco was a new center by half the size last week. The megacap retailer is just shy of entering the handle at 571.16, and trying to hold above a small trendline near 559-560. On Wednesday morning, Costco stock was up 0.5%.
Learn how to time the market with IBD’s ETF market strategy
The best stocks in the stock market rally
These are the top four stocks to buy and watch in the stock market today, including leader Dow Jones.
| Company Name | Code | The right point of purchase | Point of purchase type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free market | (millie) | 1,365.64 | cup base |
| visa | (Fifth) | 235.57 | Flat base |
| slb | (slb) | 58.70 | mug with handle |
| Costco | (it costs) | 571.16 | mug with handle |
Source: IBD data as of August 14, 2023
Join IBD experts as they analyze the leading stocks of the current stock market rally on IBD Live
Dow Jones leaders: Apple and Microsoft
Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple stock fell 1.1% on Tuesday, at its recent lows. The stock is still below its 50-day line after sharp losses in recent weeks. Shares traded thin on Wednesday.
Microsoft shares remain squarely below the 50-day line, which is a sign that the stock needs more time to consolidate before a new buy point emerges. And on Wednesday morning, the stock was down 0.2%.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @tweet Learn more about developing stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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