Apple (AAPL) paced a hearty gain for the Dow Jones industrial average at midday Tuesday, rising more than 2% to 173.49, amid a broad stock market rally.
Apple is now extended past a 160.97 proper buy point in a cup with handle that formed from Sept. 5 to Oct. 26. The iPhone giant broke out on Oct. 27, ramping up 3.6% and past the handle's high of 160.87.
Apple is also now up nearly 47% from a 118.12 buy point in a longer first-stage cup with handle. That base was part of a long bottoming base pattern, signaling a turnaround in the megacap consumer tech and digital services play.
At 1 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, up nearly 0.8%, also saw at least 10 other components within the 30-stock average rise 1 point or more.
The S&P 500 rose a little less than 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite led with a nearly 1% lift, courtesy of not only Apple but other megacap techs including Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL).
Industry groups among the 197 tracked by IBD that led Tuesday's upside included automation machinery, residential construction, automaker, data storage, computer hardware, heavy construction and security software stocks, all up 1.8% or more.
Chip equipment, fabless semiconductor, RV and mobile home, jewelry retail, farm machinery, agricultural chemical and truck transport firms also rallied 1% or more.
The S&P SmallCap 600 advanced 1%, taking its year-to-date gain back into double-digit territory, up 10.4%. The S&P 500, at 2598, reached all-time new highs and is up 16% since Jan. 1.
Alphabet, up almost 1% to 1,045.52 in below-average turnover, remains in buy range after clearing a well-formed flat base with a 1,006.29 buy point.
The proper buy range for any breakout goes up to 5% past the buy point; in Alphabet's case, it's 1,056.60. The reason: IBD's system of buying and selling great stocks definitely involves grabbing shares when the stock is rushing into new high ground, showing outstanding relative strength.
But if one buys more than 5% past a proper buy point, the risk of getting handed a fast loss goes up sharply as many top-notch market leaders often pull back after a brief run, sometimes even falling below the proper buy point.
Alphabet went public at a split-adjusted 42.50 a share in August 2004. The first breakout arrived just two months later when Alphabet soared past a 56.05 buy point in a first-stage IPO base.
IBD Stock Checkup scores good ratings for the megacap tech. Alphabet gets a sterling 98 Composite Rating on a scale of 1 (terrible) to 99 (terrific), while the B- Accumulation/Distribution Rating points to net buying by large funds over the past 13 weeks.
The Street expects Alphabet, which still gets the lion's share of its revenue from ads, to post a 32% jump in fourth-quarter profit to $9.98 a share. Profit rose 7%, 28%, 27% and 32% vs. year-ago levels in the prior four quarters, marking a bullish accelerating trend.
Elsewhere in the stock market today, Tesla (TSLA) continues to rebound mildly after a big gap-down on Nov. 2. The electric-car leader rose nearly 2% to 314.55 in fast turnover, but still remains below the 200-day moving average. According to report on CNBC Tuesday, Morgan Stanley on Tuesday said Tesla could reach 400 a share but that a sharp pullback could follow after that.
Notice on a daily chart how Tesla's 50-day line has been sloping markedly lower for more than four weeks. Watch to see if the big-cap transport play gains enough strength to potentially test upside resistance at not only the 200-day line but the medium-term 50-day.
While Wall Street still largely expects the Elon Musk-led company to lose money at least through full-year 2018, the company continues to show robust revenue growth and strong operating cash flow.
While Tesla lost $2.87 a share in 2016, it actually posted a positive cash flow from operations of $3.84 a share.
Meanwhile, several stocks have triggered IBD's offense-type sell signal.
Agilent Technologies (A) had a wild day, rising off early-morning lows to gain a smidgen to 70.09 and notch new highs. The scientific and electronic measuring instruments giant has rallied more than 20% to 25% since clearing a narrow five-week flat base at 54.92 in late April.
However, those with supreme conviction in the stock can decide to hold longer and take profits when a defense-type sell signal triggers, such as a sharp break through the 10-week moving average in huge weekly turnover.
Agilent is likely to extend its streak of low-double-digit profit growth as Wall Street sees earnings rising 13% to 60 cents a share in the January-ending fiscal first quarter. Earnings have risen 12%, 16%, 11%, 18%, 15%, 32%, 20% and 14% vs. year-ago levels in the past eight quarters.
Chinese high-growth companies continued to shine amid a nearly 2% lift for the Hang Seng benchmark in Hong Kong.
E-commerce facilitator and Leaderboard stock 58.com (WUBA) jumped for a fourth day in a row, rising nearly 3% to 78.50 in heavy trading. As noted in Leaderboard, the midcap consumer-spending play gave investors a follow-on entry point when it burst back above the 50-day moving average near 65 on Oct. 30 and 31.
Shares have since rallied more than 20%.
IBD's TAKE: Taking many gains when your stock has risen 20% to 25% past a proper buy point is an excellent way to build a strong overall return. Not only are you locking in gains in a stock on the way up, but you are also freeing up cash to possibly put into another top market leader. Read more about this offense-type sell signal in Investor's Corner.
In other financial markets, Germany's DAX 30 stabilized, rising 0.8% amid struggles by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to form a ruling coalition following recent elections. The equities benchmark, at 13,168, pulled back 5% from an all-time high of 13,525 in recent weeks but is finding support at the rising 50-day moving average.
WTI crude oil futures rebounded 0.5% to $56.71 a barrel, maintaining its torrid run since late June's low near $42.53, up 33%. The yield on the benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note held steady at 2.37%, still below a year-to-date high of 2.62%.
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