May 20, 2024
Investors

Stock Market Holds Gains As Amazon Slashes Jobs; Meta Hits A High


Major stock market indexes mostly held on to gains in midday trading Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all still in the green. Meanwhile, two Magnificent Seven stocks, Amazon.com (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META), stretched their gains.




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The Dow advanced 0.1% while the S&P 500 inched up 0.2%. The Nasdaq climbed 0.4% in the stock market today. Tech-heavy Nasdaq stocks remain above their 21-day exponential moving average after retaking the line on Monday.

The small-cap Russell 2000 underperformed the major indexes and fell 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) bumped up 0.4% as the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) rallied around 0.2%.

Volume fell on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq vs. the same time on Tuesday. Further, the 10-year Treasury yield was unchanged at 4.02%.

Stock Market Movers: Amazon Stock Lifts, Meta Hits A High

Magnificent Seven name Amazon gained 1.6% after announcing plans to lay off 500 workers from its Twitch streaming platform. In addition, it will reduce jobs at its Amazon Prime Video and MGM studios.

Amazon shares topped the 5% buy zone of a 145.86 buy point of a cuplike base. AMZN is nearing the 52-week high that it reached on Dec. 20.

Further, IBD 50 and fellow Magnificent Seven stock Meta Platforms (META) jumped nearly 4% and hit a 52-week high in stock market trading. META stock is extended from a previous 326.20 buy point.

Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) plummeted after the chip-equipment testing maker reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and sales that beat estimates, but it lowered its fiscal 2024 revenue outlook.

HPE Stock Lifts After Sell-Off

Cloud-services provider Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) rose 0.9% after Tuesday’s 8.9% sell-off in heavy volume. The company had announced it will buy Juniper Networks (JNPR) for $14 billion in cash.

HPE stock plunged below its 50-day moving average on Tuesday after word of the deal emerged and is now testing that line. Shares are below a 17.29 buy point. Also, JNPR stock added 1.8% on Wednesday following Tuesday’s deal-induced 21.8% jump in heavy trading. Shares are extended from a long consolidation with a 34.53 buy point. The network products stock reached a 52-week high on Wednesday.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) gapped up after the maker of robotic surgery gear reported preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 revenue above estimates. Shares are extended from the 5% buy zone of a 318.26 buy point of a cup-with-handle base. ISRG stock was the S&P 500’s biggest gainer on Wednesday.

Medical technology stock Stryker (SYK) flirted with a 306.93 buy point out of a consolidation. The company said it expects full-year 2023 sales to exceed $20 billion.

Tesla (TSLA) gave back early morning gains and pulled back after announcing Tuesday night that its updated Model 3 is now available in North America. TSLA stock remains below its 50-day line with its 200-day line as support. The electric-vehicle maker still has a 265.13 handle buy point from a double-bottom base, according to MarketSmith pattern recognition.

Other Stock Movers: Bitcoin Stocks Sink

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA) eased from larger losses in heavy trading after the price of bitcoin retreated below $45,000. Also, news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X social media account was compromised and a false post said that a bitcoin ETF was approved.

Lennar (LEN) gapped up after the homebuilder raised its annual cash dividend to $2 per share from $1.50 and authorized an additional $5 billion in its share buyback program. Shares are trading tightly and recently formed a bullish three-weeks-tight pattern.

IBD 50 stock GigaCloud Technology (GCT) spiked, then retreated in huge volume. It reached a 52-week high earlier in the session before falling nearly 4% in recent stock market action.

Etsy (ETSY) fell after Goldman Sachs downgraded the online marketplace stock to neutral from buy. The brokerage lowered its price target to 80 from 84.

Meanwhile, Toast (TOST) gained 1.5% after Goldman upgraded the restaurant technology stock to buy from neutral. Goldman put a 24 price target on shares.

Finally, Bloom Energy (BE) gained 2.1% after Baird upgraded the renewable energy stock to outperform from neutral. Baird raised its price target on the stock to 22 from 16.

Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on X/Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.

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