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Bulls Soar as Stock Market Surges on Friday

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On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average led a remarkable stock market surge, with bulls charging even higher. All major indexes, including small caps, witnessed upward movement during afternoon trading. The Dow added 330 points, or 0.7%, followed by the S&P 500's 0.3% increase. The tech-weighted Nasdaq also turned positive with a fractional gain. Both the S&P and Nasdaq are holding support at their 21-day exponential moving averages.

From Artificial Intelligence To Interest Rate Cuts

On this episode of Industry Insights, we're counting down to 2024 with new investment themes and strategies. Blackrock U.S.' Jay Jacobs discusses the role big tech incorporating artificial intelligence will play in the markets. We also break down how potential interest rate cuts will influence investors.

Stock Market Today's Highlights

In stocks, Nvidia (NVDA) fell further as the day progressed. Shares, which reached a record high in post-earnings action, were more than 3% lower in the afternoon. However, they still remain in a buy zone. A Magnificent Seven stock, Nvidia's buy zone goes up to 147.80 from an entry of 140.76.Meanwhile, another Magnificent Seven stock, Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL), touched down on its 200-day moving average amid more bad news. Google failed a test of its 50-day moving average on Thursday and lost nearly 2% in afternoon trades on Friday. The stock plunged nearly 5% on Thursday due to news that the Department of Justice may ask the search giant to sell its Chrome business. On Friday, The Information reported that OpenAI is planning its own web browser with a chat feature, competing with Google's Chrome.

Tax Software Maker's Earnings Impact

Intuit (INTU) fell more than 5% after announcing quarterly results. Revenue rose 10% to $3.3 billion, while earnings per share for its fiscal first quarter rose just 1% to $2.50 per share. However, the tax software maker's outlook for the current quarter disappointed. For the full year, the company maintained its revenue outlook of $18.26 billion and earnings of $19.26 per share at the midpoint. On Tuesday, shares fell 5% to the 50-day moving average amid news that President-elect Donald Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" planned a free tax-filing app that could compete with Intuit's software. Though shares rebounded and staged a recovery, earnings drove the stock lower again on Friday.

Break Outs in the Stock Market

A few stocks broke out. Copart (CPRT) gapped up and broke out past a handle buy point of 58.16. The auto auction company beat October-quarter sales and profit expectations. Burlington (BURL) broke out at 279.51 from a cup-with-handle base. The retailer will report its third-quarter results on Tuesday, making a purchase on the breakout riskier. In footwear, Deckers (DECK) gapped out of a cup with a handle with a buy point of 182.26. Volume was heavy. Household products maker Clorox (CLX) edged into its buy zone from a buy point of 169.09. But volume was mild and the relative strength line is lagging.

Economic Reports and Crypto News

In economic news, the Purchasing Managers' Index for November rose to 55.3 from October's 54.1 reading. The manufacturing index met estimates of 48.8, and the services index rose to 57. Economists had expected the services index at 55.1. Consumer sentiment, according to the University of Michigan's Survey, came in at 71.8 vs. views of 73 for November. Inflation expectations for the upcoming year met views and tapered to 2.6% after October's 2.7%. In crypto news, bitcoin rose near an all-time high and just below the $100,000 mark. Late Thursday, SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler said he plans to step down. Gensler brought new regulations to the crypto industry but also allowed spot bitcoin ETFs.

Amazon's AI Stake and Stock Movement

Amazon.com (AMZN) hovered just below a buy point of 202.20, down 0.5% in morning trading. The e-commerce and cloud giant increased its AI stake by investing another $4 billion in Anthropic. Anthropic will use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to train its generative AI models. Amazon has a total of $8 billion invested in the AI company.

Earnings Movers in Different Sectors

NetApp (NTAP) jumped after its quarterly report. Earnings of $1.87 per share on $1.66 billion in sales were higher than analysts' estimates of $1.78 in per-share earnings and sales of $1.65 billion. Shares of the data storage leader rallied for four days ahead of the report and broke out from past a buy point of 135.01 on Friday. However, the stock reversed lower one hour into the session.Elastic (ESTC) was also an earnings mover. Shares soared over 20% after earnings and sales topped views, but the chart looks weak. The database software play has a Relative Strength Rating of just 22.In retail, Gap (GAP) rose after its third-quarter report. Sales of $3.8 billion rose 2% while earnings per share of 72 cents was 22% higher. Shares rose headed into earnings on Thursday and soared past the August high of 25.40 before paring gains.Ross Stores (ROST) soared 10% but also trimmed gains. Sales of $5.1 billion were 3% higher than the prior year, and earnings of $1.48 per share increased 11%.Please follow VRamakrishnan on X/Twitter for more news on the stock market today.

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