The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes hit new highs Thursday as the stock market rally continued. Goldman Sachs (GS) and Apple (AAPL) led the Dow Jones, while top gainers in the Nasdaq 100 included Align Technology (ALGN) and Cintas (CTAS). Align stock, best known for its Invisalign teeth straightening system, is slightly extended from a 281.67 buy point. But uniform maker Cintas is still in buy range from a 274.85 buy point.
XMeanwhile, strong performances from Paylocity (PCTY), Alibaba (BABA) and Universal Display (OLED) helped lift Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) to a gain of 1.1%.
The Nasdaq composite, Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 ended with gains of 0.7% to 0.8%. Small caps sat the rally out as the Russell 2000 inched up less than 0.1%. Preliminary data showed volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq coming in close to Wednesday's levels.
Dow Jones Gainers
Apple gapped up and hit another new high, but it's getting close to moving above an upper channel line. That means it could be ready to pull back and consolidate gains soon. For individual stocks, use weekly charts to draw upper channel lines. They're found by connecting a stock's recent highs. Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) cleared an upper channel line Thursday.
Boeing (BA) stock continues to try to find a bottom, rising 1.5%. U.S. and Iraqi officials now think an Iranian anti-aircraft missile brought down a Boeing 737 when it crashed in Tehran late Tuesday.
Goldman Sachs added 2% to a new 52-week high. But it's extended past a proper buy point after a breakout in early November. Goldman and a slew of other financial stocks will report earnings next week as fourth-quarter earnings season gets underway.
Stock Market Movers
In other stock market news, Snap (SNAP) shares jumped 4%, helped by positive analyst chatter. Snap is now a breakout candidate as it sits near the top of a 24-week consolidation.
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Elsewhere, Leaderboard stock Costco (COST) gapped above its 50-day moving average after reporting December sales, but the stock backed off highs as it gets some resistance near the 300 level.
Inside the MarketSmith Growth 250, Nvidia (NVDA) backed off highs as it tries to clear a three-weeks-tight entry.
Follow Ken Shreve on Twitter @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
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