Early gains faded for the stock market Thursday after news of a proposed Brexit deal between the European Union and the U.K. fueled early buying. But major stock indexes still managed to close with modest gains. The Dow Jones industrials lagged a bit, hurt by weak earnings from IBM (IBM), but UnitedHealth (UNH) and Walgreens (WBA) outperformed with gains of more than 2% each.
XThe Nasdaq composite outperformed, helped by a gain of 2.5% for Netflix (NFLX) shares.
Buyers came into Netflix after the company reported better-than-expected earnings, along with its second straight quarter of accelerating sales growth. But sales slightly missed expectations. Wall Street seemed to focus instead on strong international subscriber adds.
But Netflix stock closed in the bottom half of its intraday range, and its technical picture remains fuzzy as it trades below its 200-day moving average, about 24% off its high.
The Nasdaq composite added 0.4%, but the real outperformance came from small stocks as the Russell 2000 jumped 1.1%. The S&P 500 picked up 0.3% and the Dow Jones inched up 0.1%. Preliminary data showed volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq coming in slightly lower than Wednesday.
Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) performed mostly in line with the stock market, up 0.5%. But iShares Expanded Tech-Software (IGV) ETF lagged again, falling 0.5%, after Wednesday's 2.3% haircut. Software stocks lagged badly on cautious analyst commentary. Atlassian (TEAM), a former leader in the software sector, reported earnings after the close. Shares were down 1% in after-hours trading.
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) was an after-hours earnings winner, up 3%.
Dow Jones Today
Technology stocks in the Dow Jones lagged, hurt by weak earnings from IBM (IBM). Shares plunged. Intel (INTC) and Microsoft (MSFT) ended with losses of 1% and 0.5%, respectively. Earnings results from Intel and Microsoft are due next week.
Walt Disney (DIS), meanwhile, rose for the sixth time in seven sessions. Disney stock rose 1% to 132.37, but its 50-day moving average around 144 is a potential resistance level to watch. The company's new streaming service, Disney+, is set to launch next month.
Stock Market Movers
In other stock market news, Leaderboard stock Tempur Sealy (TPX) topped the 81.95 buy point with conviction, rising 4% to 82.65.
MarketSmith Growth 250 name Pool (POOL) was another big mover in the stock market today, up 6% on strong earnings. The retailer, which operates pool equipment and supply centers, gapped up out of a flat base with a buy point of 205.07. In this case, the stock's open price of 214.05 could've have been used as an alternate entry.
Follow Ken Shreve on Twitter @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
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