Nasdaq Jumps 159 Points, Led By AMD Stock, Tesla, Netflix; Top Chip Stock Eyes Breakout

The stock market rally continued on Wall Street Thursday, particularly on the Nasdaq, as investors kept their hopes up for another coronavirus stimulus package. Top gainers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average included Walmart (WMT) and Visa (V). Uniform maker Cintas (CTAS) outperformed in the Nasdaq 100. It's in an alternate buy zone after a solid first test of its 10-week moving average.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also outperformed in the Nasdaq 100. It's back above the 10-week line as it works on the right side of a potential base. Broad-based strength in semiconductor stocks helped fuel the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to a gain of 2.1%.

Tesla (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) were other top gainers in the Nasdaq 100, up 4.5% and 5.5%, respectively.

Chipmaker Qorvo (QRVO) rose nearly 5% to 135.09. It's near the top of an eight-week consolidation that shows a 136.16 buy point.

<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://research.investors.com..."></iframe>

Security software stock SailPoint Technologies (SAIL), which joined Leaderboard Wednesday, soared 15% on news it's being added to the S&P MidCap 400. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight with a 50 price target.

At the close, the Nasdaq composite rose 1.4% and the Russell 2000 small-cap index rallied around 1.5%. Gains were more muted in the Dow Jones and S&P 500. The Dow Jones inched up 0.1% and the S&P 500 rallied 0.5%. Preliminary data showed volume lower on both exchanges.

According to Wednesday's The Big Picture column, the stock market went back to a confirmed uptrend because the Dow Jones flashed a follow-through day on the fifth day of its rally attempt, rising 1.2% in higher volume. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite faded off highs by the close of that day and didn't qualify.

Still, there are plenty of leading growth stocks out there working on bases that could yield breakouts. Count Adobe (ADBE), PayPal (PYPL) and Apple (AAPL) among them. In the homebuilding group, D.R. Horton (DHI) and PulteGroup (PHM) are very close to buy points as they form flat bases.

Economic Data

In economic news, weekly jobless claims totaled 837,000, a little better than the consensus estimate of 850,000. Meanwhile, consumer spending rose 1% in August, slightly better than expected. But personal incomes fell 2.7%, a little worse than the -2.4% consensus. The ISM Manufacturing index for September registered a solid reading of 55.4, but that was slightly below the consensus estimate of 56.3.

Friday's jobs report will be out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Non-farm payrolls are expected to rise 894,000 with the unemployment rate falling to 8.2%. The economy created a net 1.37 million jobs in August.

Other Nasdaq Winners

In earnings news, Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) soared 25% on strong earnings. It's a heavily shorted stock so part of today's strength is short-covering. But the numbers were really good at the retailer, with adjusted profit up 47% year over year to 50 cents a share. Revenue fell 1% to $2.69 billion, but that was better than the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Same-store sales increased 6%, the first gain since Q4 2016. Online sales jumped 89%.

---

Overstock (OSTK) was a top gainer in the MarketSmith Growth 250, up 15%, after Wedbush reportedly added the stock to its "Best Ideas" list. Despite Thursday's strength, Overstock is still below its 50-day moving average, a potential resistance level to watch.

In other stock market news, EXP World Holdings (EXPI) soared 13% to 45.64. It could try to clear a short consolidation soon with a 46.68 buy point. The company provides cloud-based real estate brokerage services for residential homeowners and home buyers.

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

#NASDAQ##TESLA##StockMarket#