Following The Salesforce Earnings Tour de Force: "Workday, VMware Signal Breakouts On Strong Earnings (CRM; VMW; WDAY)

Software and cloud seems to be the new FAANG.

From Investor's Business Daily, 6:13 PM ET:

Dow Jones futures rose slightly late Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, after the major averages rallied to close higher. Workday (WDAY), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Splunk (SPLK) and VMware (VMW) all reported better-than-expected earnings late Thursday. Workday stock and VMware stock signaled possible breakouts at Friday's open. Splunk stock could test key support levels, while Palo Alto Networks stock is trying to break a downtrend.

Workday stock, Palo Alto stock, VMware stock and Splunk stock are all in the software sector.

Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures were a fraction above fair value. So were S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures. Remember that Dow futures and other overnight action such as Workday stock, don't necessarily translate in actual trading in the next regular session.

Stock Market Retreats
A day after the stock market follow-through confirmed a new rally, the major averages were up and down, fading into the close. The Dow Jones fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 index 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite 0.25%. Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), the world's most valuable companies, both fell 0.8%.

Workday Earnings
Workday earnings jumped 29% to 31 cents a share, defying views for a sharp drop to 14 cents. Revenue rose 34% for the human capital and financial management software. Billings boomed 48%.
Workday stock rose nearly 10% to 159.45 in late trading.  That would push shares above a 157.22 consolidation buy point.  Workday stock had hit resistance around 147 in the base.
The relative strength line, which tracks a stock's performance vs. the S&P 500 index, had closed just below an all-time highs even with Workday stock 7% off its peak....MORE

Previously on leadership:

Nov. 27 
"Dow Jones Futures: Salesforce Earnings Bullish For Stock Market Rally" (CRM) 
Nov. 20 
Dow Jones Falls 1,000 Points In 2 Days (Semiconductors Surge tho)
The stock that will signal a turn in sentiment is Salesforce which led the whole Software is Eating the World on the upmove and then, as the Russians say, The World Eats the SaaS. Or something.

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