Tech Takes Lead As Powell Answers Senate's Bank Run Question; Tesla, Amazon Rise As AI Investor Day Starts

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2% Thursday at 1:30 pm as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell responded to questions from the Senate Banking Committee.

Powell continued his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, following his appearance in front of a House Committee Wednesday. He said that a "strong majority" among Fed members support more hikes in this year.

In response to the Committee's question regarding the recent banking crisis and large regional bank, the Fed Chair said that there is a need for strengthening both supervision and regulations of banks of this size. The chair had earlier stated that banks were "sound and resilient."

Powell conceded to a hawkish position on Wednesday. He said that, "given the progress we've made, it might make sense to raise rates, but at a moderate pace."

The S&P 500 gained 0.1% while the Nasdaq retraced some of its earlier gains to trade 0.4% higher by the hour.

Volumes on the NYSE were lower than on Wednesday at the same time.

Crude oil dropped nearly 3%, trading at $70.55 per barrel.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note rose by 8 basis points, to 3.80%.

Russell 2000 small caps fell by 0.9%. The Innovator IBD ETF (FFTY), however, outperformed the Russell 2000, rising 0.3%.

Dow Jones Stocks

Merck (MRK), a leader in health care, is breaking a trendline at around 111 on a flat basis. Stock has not yet cleared the 50-day level. Walgreens' (WBA), which is due to report earnings next week, finds support at the 21 day line. Apple (AAPL), with support from the 10-day line, continues to hold close to its all-time high of 186.99.

Stocks moving today

KB Home (KBH), fell after the earnings. The stock is up 25% from its previous entry of 40.67.

Accenture (ACN), which had a very strong third quarter, fell after the announcement of lower bookings than expected of $18,25 billion. The IT company also reduced its growth target for the full year.

Darden, the parent company of Olive Garden restaurants (DRI), also dropped after its fiscal fourth-quarter results.

CarMax (KMX), which is due to report earnings on Friday, rose slightly.

Tesla shares (TSLA), despite another analyst downgrade, rose. Morgan Stanley analysts gave Tesla (TSLA) an equal weight rating from overweight. However, they raised the price goal to $250 from $200.

The C3.ai stock (AI) fell slightly as it tested its 21-day moving median at the start of its Investor Day, which began at 1:30 pm. ET Thursday.

Chip and software stocks outside the Dow Jones have retreated after a huge rally. Some stocks are finding support. Broadcom (AVGO), an IBD SwingTrader Stock, is currently testing its 10-dayline. Super Micro Computer, Axcelis and Ansys are all finding support near their 21-day lines. ACLS is listed on the IBD 50.

Amazon (AMZN), rose Thursday. The Competition and Markets Authority approved Amazon's acquisition of iRobot last week.

Alcoa (AA), which fell after Morgan Stanley reduced its price target from 43 to 33 and changed the rating from equal to underweight, Alcoa's shares dropped.

Piper Sandler reduced DigitalOcean's (DOCN) weighting from neutral to underweight with a target price of $35. As the stock falls, it is sending a sell round-trip signal. It had gained almost 20% since its entry at 39.66.

Intra-Cellular Therapies is trading at 66.56 on a flat basis.

Initial claims for unemployment rose higher than expected, to 264,000 from 262,000 in the previous week. The number of existing home sales dropped by 20% compared to May 2022.