Dow Jones Erases Losses, As Apple, Tesla Jump; Novavax Surges 14% On Coronavirus Vaccine News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 150 points Friday before erasing losses, as the stock market rally attempt continues. Dow Jones leader Apple rallied over 2%, while Tesla jumped 5% in morning trade. Novavax soared as much as 14% on coronavirus vaccine news.

Dow Jones leaders Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) rallied 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively, in today's stock market. Nike (NKE) fell 0.4% to add to Thursday's loss.

Tesla (TSLA) raced 5% higher in morning trade, while Novavax (NVAX) soared as much as 14% on coronavirus vaccine news. Costco (COST) tumbled nearly 3% on mixed earnings results.

Stocks to watch are Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA). Both chip leaders are battling for support around their 50-day lines.

Microsoft, Nike, Nvidia and Tesla are all IBD Leaderboard stocks.

Dow Jones Today

Early Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned higher, up 0.3%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite rallied 1.1% in morning trade.

Among exchange traded funds, Innovator IBD 50 (FFTY) traded up 0.3% Friday morning. The Nasdaq 100-linked Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF rose 1.1%. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moved up 0.5%.

Overall, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 18.9% for the year through Thursday's close. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up just 0.5%, while the Dow is down 6.0% year to date, through the Sept. 24 close.

Coronavirus Updates

According to the Worldometer data tracker, the cumulative number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. topped 7.18 million on Friday. Total virus-related deaths topped 207,000.

The cumulative total of Covid-19 cases confirmed since the start of the outbreak worldwide topped 32.4 million Friday, with more than 988,000 virus-related deaths.

Coronavirus Stock Market Trend

According to IBD's The Big Picture, the coronavirus stock market rally continues to see strong institutional selling pressure after rebounding from lows six months ago, on March 23. The major stock indexes confirmed the rebound as a new uptrend on April 2. But that new uptrend ended Wednesday after more sharp losses.

Thursday's Big Picture reported that, "Despite the new stock market correction, Thursday is Day 4 of a rally attempt. This means that a follow-through day — and a new uptrend — could occur any day."

Amid tough general market conditions, investors should be more focused on playing defense than buying new breakouts. Watch for stocks that are exhibiting strength in a weak stock market; they could be the leaders of a new uptrend.

Stocks to watch include IBD Long-Term Leaders, companies with stable earnings growth and price performance.

Dow Jones News: Apple Stock

Among the Dow Jones stocks, Apple rallied 2.2% Friday morning, on pace to add to Thursday's 1% gain. Apple shares are still below their 50-day line, according to MarketSmith chart analysis.

Apple stock is about 50% above a 72.15 buy point in a cup-with-handle base. The blue-chip giant is the No. 1-performing Dow Jones stock for 2020, with a 47.4% advance through Thursday's close. Recent Dow Jones 30 addition Salesforce.com (CRM) is the No. 2 performer with a 46.1% year-to-date advance.

Novavax Soars On Coronavirus Vaccine News

Early Friday, Novavax soared as much as 14% after generic drugmaker Endo (ENDP) said it signed a deal to make Novavax's coronavirus vaccine. On Thursday, Novavax began a late-stage trial of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the United Kingdom.

Novavax stock remains more than 40% off its 52-week high.

Stocks To Watch: AMD, Nvidia

Amid the current stock market weakness, tech giants Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia are holding up well. These two chip leaders could again be stock market winners during a potential new uptrend.

AMD stock is trading just below its 50-day line after Friday's 0.1% loss. Shares are testing the 50-day line for the first time since a July 22 breakout above a 59.10 buy point.

According to the IBD Stock Checkup, AMD stock boasts a best-possible 99 IBD Composite Rating. The Composite Rating — an easy way to identify top growth stocks — is a blend of key fundamental and technical metrics to help investors quickly gauge a stock's strengths.

Nvidia continues to hold above its critical 50-day line. The stock gained 0.8% Friday morning.

On Monday, the stock hit a new buy area, as it rebounded from its 50-day line. However, with the stock market trend in a correction, all new buys are off the table.

Bullishly, the stock's relative strength line is just off its old highs. The RS line measures a stock's price performance vs. the S&P 500.

Stock Market Earnings: Costco

Retail giant Costco reported mixed fiscal Q4 earnings late Thursday, and shares fell more than 2% in morning trade Friday. Costco earned $3.13 per share, while revenue rose 12.5% to $52.28 billion. The Street expected earnings per share to rise 6% to $2.85. Revenue was seen rising 10% to $52.47 billion.

Costco stock ended Thursday above a 331.59 alternate buy point, and is now trying to maintain support at its 50-day line.

Tesla Stock

Early Friday, Tesla stock jumped 5%, adding to Thursday's 2% advance. Shares are again rebounding from their 50-day support level.

Tesla shares hit an all-time high on Sept. 1, topping out at 502.49. Tesla is about 23% off its 52-week high amid the recent action.

Dow Jones Leaders: Microsoft, Nike

Among the top Dow Jones stocks, software leader Microsoft rose 1.5% following Thursday's 1.3% rise. The stock continues to find resistance around its 50-day line. It will need to overcome this resistance if it plans to build the right side of a new base.

On Sept. 8, shares closed below their 50-day support level for the first time since the May 5 breakout above a cup-with-handle's 180.10 buy point.

Nike stock fell 0.4% in morning trade, adding to Thursday's 1.9% decline. Shares are just 4% off their 52-week high despite the stock market's recent weakness.

The stock is one of the top-performing Dow Jones stocks in 2020. Year to date, Nike is up 23.1% through Thursday's close. It is an IBD Leaderboard stock.

Reprinted from yahoofinance, the copyright all reserved by the original author.

#DOW##TESLA##CoronavirusWave2.0#