X After a morning in which the Nasdaq composite nearly hit a record high followed by the major averages reversed for modest losses, stocks are trading near break-even in early afternoon trade.
The Nasdaq was barely higher and the Dow Jones industrial average fell less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 dropped 0.1%. Turnover showed solid increases on both the NYSE and Nasdaq vs. the same time Wednesday.
Among the Dow industrials, action was mostly quiet. On the upside, IBM (IBM) paced the advancers with a 1% gain. Big Blue found support at the 50-day moving average on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley (MS) raised its price target to 212 from 187.
Among the laggards, DuPont (DD) and Chevron (CVX) both fell about 1%.
Electric auto maker Tesla (TSLA) jumped 3% after the company announced plans to raise more than $1 billion. CEO Elon Musk will purchase $25 million of common stock. The automaker planned to use the proceeds to ramp up manufacturing of its Model 3. Shares are rising from support at the 50-day line.
Snap (SNAP), parent company of social media app Snapchat, continued its spate of recent declines. After Wednesday's rally, shares were back down as another analyst slapped a sell rating on the new issue. Moffett Nathanson issued a sell rating with a 15 price target, a 25% discount to the current price. Snap traded down nearly 3% to 20.16, near post-IPO lows.
Among stocks breaking out today, Nucor (NUE) popped 2.9% to 65.26, pulling back after rising as high as 66, above a 65.50 cup-with-handle entry. The steel producer issued bullish Q1 guidance.
Quantenna Communications (QTNA), the high speed wireless company, broke out of cup-with-handle base with a 23.23 buy point as shares rocketed 9.5%. Consensus estimates show the company's annual earnings growing 700% in 2017 and 238% in 2018. The company debuted in October 2016.
Nvidia (NVDA), ranked No. 1 on the IBD 50, moved up 0.8% after the company announced that it was working with Paccar (PCAR), the truck manufacturer, to develop a technology for autonomous vehicles. On Wednesday, it was reported that Nvidia had partnered with Bosch, the German technology company, to develop a self-driving computer.
Among other leading growth stocks, Chinese companies Weibo (WB) and Momo (MOMO) led the charge, with Veeva Systems (VEEV) right behind them.
Weibo traded 3% higher as it attempts to build the right side of a new base. Momo moved up 2.8% to notch a fresh record high. Veeva added 2.4% to 49.02 and is now extended from a 45.95 aggressive entry. The stock also is within range after clearing a conventional 48.05 buy point.
On the downside, Masimo (MASI) sold off almost 4% on heavy volume. After an incredible run from 60 to 96 in the last three months, today's action is the first chink in the medical stock's armor. Piper Jaffray cut the stock's rating to neutral from overweight.
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