2:57 PM ET (pre-close)
Stocks were mixed heading into the last hour of regular trade Thursday as the Dow Jones industrials held a solid gain but the Nasdaq stayed underwater.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to its best level since Oct. 10, the S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, and the Nasdaq pared its loss to 0.1%. Small caps were slightly higher, with the Russell 2000 up 0.2%. Preliminary data showed volume lighter on the NYSE and Nasdaq vs. the same time Thursday.
Freshly listed Dow (DOW) led the Dow Jones industrials with a 6% jump. The plastics giant was spun off from and replaced DowDuPont (DWDP) on the blue-chip index starting Tuesday.4:14 PM ET (immediate post-close)
Boeing (BA) lifted 3% as it tries to retake its 50-day moving average for the first time since March 12.
Disney (DIS) added 2% in busy trade, on track for its best close in nearly six months. Shares are 4% off their 52-week high....MORE
Stock Market Bounces From Session Lows But No. 1 Sector Tumbles
The stock market bounced from session lows to close mixed Thursday, but the high-flying software sector suffered a forgettable day.And earlier in the day:
Software — IBD's top sector with a year-to-date gain of nearly 28% before Thursday's slide — saw a number of its best stocks fall sharply.
Sector Leaders Atlassian (TEAM) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) fell 4.5% and 2%, respectively, but both held above their 50-day moving averages. Palo Alto continues to work on a flat base. ServiceNow (NOW), down 4%, also arrested its drop at the 50-day line.
A few others weren't so lucky. Zscaler (ZS) plummeted nearly 9%, the biggest drop since Nov. 19. The stock was removed from IBD Leaderboard.
IShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) lost 1.9% but held above its latest entry at 206.76. Indeed, most software leaders held above key support levels.
The sector's rout was the main reason the technology-tilted Nasdaq composite lagged, closing less than 0.1% lower. It had been down as much as 0.6%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%. The Russell 2000 rose 0.4% at the closing bell. Volume fell from Wednesday's totals, according to unconfirmed data....MORE
2:35 PM ET
This Sector Slams Nasdaq As Dow Jones Outperforms; Top Growth Stock Hits A Sell Signal
... A Sell Signal In This Top Stock
Workday (WDAY), a leader in the human resources and financial operations areas of enterprise software, sliced through its 50-day moving average in heavy volume. Shares fell more than 6% in volume running twice its usual pace and hit an intraday low of 179.08.12:01 PM ET
According to IBD Stock Checkup, the Relative Strength Rating for Workday remains stellar at 94 on a scale of 1 (terrible) to 99 (terrific). However, keep in mind that in almost all cases, the RS Rating works best as a tool for selecting stocks, not for deciding when to sell top growth stocks....MORE
Dow Jones Led By Dow, Boeing; Sell-Off In Software Stocks Weighs On Nasdaq
