Dow Jones futures will open Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures. Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) reported strong growth in profits and cash flow, with the billionaire investor expecting further increases at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
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The stock market rally had a strong week, with the Nasdaq surpassing a key level thanks to a tame jobs report and bounce Apple (AAPL).
Nvidia (NVDA) regained a key level, sending an early buying signal on Friday, recovering from a midweek decline.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Astera Laboratories (ALAB), Arista Networks (A NET), Data Dog (DDOG) And Constellation Energy (CEG) all have gains within reach. These are all AI-related games that are being implemented.
Nvidia shares are in progress MII classification, Swing Trader and the MII 50. ALAB stock is on the Leaderboard Watch List.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures open Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, along with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures.
Remember that overnight action Dow Jones Futures and elsewhere does not necessarily translate into real exchanges during the next regular class sotck exchange session.
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Berkshire Hathaway profits
Berkshire operating profit jumped 39% in the first quarter compared to a year earlier. Revenue rose 5% to $89.87 billion. Both exceeded estimates.
The conglomerate purchased $2.6 billion worth of its own shares in the first quarter. Berkshire’s cash on hand rose to a record $188.99 billion, up from $167.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
Buffett, speaking at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting, expects « modest » profit growth for the full year and forecasts cash levels to reach $200 billion by the end of the second trimester.
Berkshire has reduced its massive stake in Apple for a second straight quarter. He said his stake in Apple was worth $135.4 billion, signaling a 13% drop in shares held to around 790 million. In the fourth quarter, Berkshire reduced its stake in Apple by 10 million shares.
Buffett said he expects Apple shares to remain Berkshire’s largest holding.
Berkshire shares edged down 0.3% last week to 400.60, below the 50-day line. BRKB stock has a flat base buy point of 430. Investors could take advantage of a decisive move above the 50-day mark that could offer early entry.
Stock market rally
The stock rally saw some midweek swings, but came on strong Thursday and Friday, helped by earnings reports and a subdued jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% last week. stock market trading. The S&P 500 index gained 0.55%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.4%. The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 1.7%.
The Nasdaq rebounded above its 50-day line on Friday, jumping 2%. But for the third time in six sessions, the Nasdaq recorded a sharp price increase with slightly lower volume than the previous session. So there is still no official follow-up day for the market rally attempt.
The S&P 500, Dow Jones and Russell 2000 broke above their 50-day line on Friday, but closed below that key level, although the S&P sits just below it.
Nvidia broke through an early buy point and a number of stocks are establishing themselves, but there weren’t many buying opportunities on Friday.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell 17 basis points to 4.5%, below 2024 highs.
U.S. crude oil futures plunged 6.85% to $78.11 a barrel last week.
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Sector ETFs saw modest moves but generally closed near weekly highs.
Among growth ETFs, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) fell 0.3 % last week, with DDOG stock being a member. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) increased by a fraction. Nvidia stock is the No. 1 stock.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) lost less than 0.1% in another tight weekly close. The GlobalPAVE) climbed 0.4%. US Global Jets ETF (JETS) fell 0.1%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) increased by 1.4%.
The SPDR Fund for the Selected Health Care Sector (XLIV) added 0.7%. The Select Industrial Sector SPDR Fund (XLII) increased by 0.1%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) fell 0.6%.
The big exception: the Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) fell 3.3%.
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NVIDIA Stock
Nvidia shares rose 1.2% last week to 887.83, rebounding 3.6% on Friday. Stocks reclaimed the 50-day line and crossed a trendline, providing early entry. NVDA stock also briefly topped the April 30 high of 888.19, but did not close above it.
Nvidia stock has an official 974 point of purchase of a consolidation dating back to the March 8 peak. Shares shrugged off Wednesday’s decline following lackluster guidance from rival Advanced Micro Devices and server partner AI. Super microcomputer (SMCI).
Nvidia’s results are expected on May 22.
AI gains
Palantir’s earnings are expected Monday evening. Analysts expect stellar profit growth and solid revenue growth, with the focus on commercial sales. PLTR stock jumped 3.55% last week to 23.32, just below the 50-day line. A decisive move above this level after earnings could offer early entry. Palantir stock has a consolidation buy point of 27.50, according to Market increase.
Datadog’s results are announced early Tuesday. Analysts expect a 22% rise in EPS and revenue, but forecast a decline in profits for the rest of the year. DDOG fell 5.5% last week to 124.27, falling below the 50-day line on Friday as Cloud Flare (NET) dived on dull directions. Datadog has a buy point of 138.61 on a flat base. Investors could use the April 26 high of 132.90 as an early entry.
Arista Networks earnings are in late Tuesday. The network leader saw strong growth in 2023, finally peaking on March 22, 2024. After falling below the 50-day mark in mid-April, stocks are rebounding as tech titans tout major plans to AI spending, including major Arista customers. Microsoft (MSFT) And Metaplatforms (META). ANET stock rose 3.7% to 274.38 last week, rebounding 4.8% on Friday but hitting 50-day resistance. It has a new base with a buy point of 307.74.
Astera Labs also publishes its first results on Tuesday evening since its publication in March. ALAB stock slipped 0.5% last week to 76.96 following the sell-off in Super Micro and AMD, but came off well off the lows. The AI network chip maker has a Basis of IPO with a buy point of 95.21 on a daily chart, but it will have an entry handle of 88.59 after Monday. This handle is already valid on a weekly basis.
Constellation Energy’s results are due Thursday morning, with analysts expecting booming first-quarter results. The nuclear power leader has become an AI-adjacent play as artificial intelligence chips have enormous power requirements.
CEG stock rose 4.7% Friday to 194.86, rebounding from the 21-day line, breaking a trendline and setting a record close. THE line of relative force reached a new peak. All of this is a buy signal, but upcoming profits increase the risks. Constellation Energy stock has a flat base buy point of 198.83.
Market Rally Analysis
The stock market rally overcame some key technical hurdles, while a huge week of earnings and economic news turned out to be largely positive.
There were opportunities to make new purchases on Friday. Investors could continue to increase their exposure at modest levels if the market recovery continues to go well.
So update your watchlists. While this article has highlighted Nvidia and AI plays, stocks from a wide variety of sectors are actionable or in the works, including retail, financial, healthcare and energy .
The return of the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 to the 50-day line would be a positive signal. On the other hand, it would not take much for the Nasdaq to fall below this key level.
Earnings season is starting to ease while the economic calendar is light this coming week, reducing the risk of a major market move.
Read The big picture every day to stay in tune with the direction of the market and the main values and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on the discussions at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter on @IBD_ECarson.
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