U.S. stocks and Treasury yields rose early Thursday on signs of progress with the U.S.-China trade deal. All three indexes traded at record highs before gains faded in afternoon trading. As for major Dow Jones stocks, Apple (AAPL) recorded an all-time high, while Disney (DIS) reported positive earnings after the stock market close.
XAmong the IBD 50 top growth stocks, Lululemon (LULU) traded higher Thursday and is climbing back to a buy point. Expedia (EXPE), one of Thursday's biggest decliners, fell 26% after an earnings miss.
Dow Jones Hits Fresh Record Highs
The major stock indexes advanced to record highs early Thursday on U.S.-China trade news. China said the two countries agreed to phase out the existing trade tariffs. The Dow Jones gained more than 250 points, or 0.9%, in afternoon trading. But gains tapered off shortly before 3 p.m. ET on news of a divided in the White House over the tariff rollback. The Dow closed up 0.7%. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq both advanced 0.3% and well off session highs.
Investor sentiment continues to turn positive on the resilient U.S. jobs market, a strong corporate earnings season, and hopes that a U.S.-China trade deal materializes between these two economic powerhouses.
Apple At New Highs, Disney Awaits Earnings
A China trade deal, or even a tariff truce, would be good news for Apple iPhone sales and Apple stock.
The Dow Jones leader rose more than 1% Thursday, hitting new record highs. The stock is extended well past the 221.47 buy point, after a mid-September breakout. But a pullback to the stock's 50-day line could present an add-on buying opportunity for investors. The tech giant is an IBD Leaderboard stock idea.
Disney, another Dow leader, gained nearly 1% ahead of the company's earnings on Thursday. Shares reclaimed their 50-day line as they work on a flat base with a 147.25 buy point. But the relative strength line is lagging and the stock holds a low 55 RS Rating.
Disney beat fiscal Q4 earnings expectations of 95 cents a share on revenue of $19.04 billion. The company reported adjusted EPS of $1.07 on revenue of $19.1 billion. Shares jumped at least 4.5% in after-hours trading.
Earnings After Market Close
Activision Blizzard (ATVI) reported earnings after the market close, and topped estimates. It posted adjusted earning of 32 cents a share on sales of $1.28 billion. The company was expected to report Q4 earnings of 23 cents a share on revenue of $1.164 billion. The stock dropped nearly 3% Thursday but found support at its 50-day moving average line. In extended trading, shares fell modestly. Activision has formed a first-stage flat base with a buy point of 57.62.
Planet Fitness is expected to report earnings this afternoon as well. Wall Street expects the company to announce EPS of 36 cents on revenue of $162 million.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) climbed 0.3%.
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