April Webinar RegistrationApril Webinar Registration


Biotechs Help Nasdaq To Small Gain; Apple's Rise Fails To Spur Dow

Loading the player...

Strength in biotech stocks buoyed the Nasdaq composite Wednesday, but a strong showing by Apple (AAPL) didn't help the Dow much, and some afternoon selling reminded investors why the market uptrend is under pressure.

At the close, the Nasdaq rose 0.4% and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.2%. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%, despite another sell-off in oil and gas stocks. Preliminary data showed volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq coming in lower than Tuesday's levels.

Solar, oil & gas and airline stocks underperformed.

In the stock market today, Dow component Apple surged past a 110.33 buy point in heavy volume, rising nearly 4% and extending gains after Tuesday's move, which was fueled by news of strong preorders for the iPhone 7.

Skyworks (SWKS) and Broadcom (AVGO) outperformed in the Nasdaq 100, along with several biotech names like Alexion (ALXN), Celgene (CELG) and Regeneron (REGN).

Several recent IPOs outperformed as names like Impinj (PI), Penumbra (PEN) and Lumentum (LITE) all rose around 3% or more.

Inside the IBD 50, 13 names rose 1% or more. Gigamon (GIMO) had a nice day, up 7%, after a presentation and positive comments from William Blair.


IBD'S TAKE: Gigamon is a top performer in IBD's Internet-Network Solutions group, but plenty of other competitors are acting well. See who they are with IBD Stock Checkup.


IBD 50 component NetEase (NTES) continued its assault on new highs, rising 1.5%. Shares are up 10% so far this week. A report Tuesday said the company plans to divest its news business to focus on the fast-growing online gaming sector.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude oil futures for October delivery fell $1.32, or 2.9%, to $43.58  a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield was down around 3 basis points to 1.70%.