Futures: Stocks Suffer Pre-Powell Sell-Off; 3 Earnings Movers

Dow Jones futures rose slightly after hours, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell will give his much-anticipated Jackson Hole speech Friday morning. Cava Group (CAVA), Ross Stores and Intuit reported strong earnings Thursday night.

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Tech Stocks Hit Ahead Of Powell Speech; ONON, PDD, DASH In Focus

The Nasdaq led a stock market rally retreat Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of Powell’s Jackson Hole speech.

Nvidia (NVDA) fell solidly with its earnings report due next Wednesday. Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) flashed buy signals Thursday morning but reversed lower with the market. Arista Networks (ANET) and Shift4 (FOUR) forged new handles.

Tesla (TSLA) undercut key support, but the EV giant does have a new base.

Nvidia stock is on Leaderboard. Cava stock, Broadcom and Meta Platforms are on SwingTrader. Nvidia and Meta stock are on the IBD 50. Arista stock is on the IBD Big Cap 20. Broadcom was Thursday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.

Fed Chief Powell At Jackson Hole

Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell will speak 10 a.m. ET Friday at the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.

Powell is likely to signal that the central bank is ready to begin Fed rate cuts. With recent economic data once again favoring a soft landing scenario, markets are pricing in a quarter-point rate cut on Sept. 18, with 75-100 basis points for the full year.

If Powell suggests the Fed will cut rates more gradually, markets could react negatively.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures were 0.1% above fair value. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Earnings

Cava earnings beat views with the Mediterranean-themed eatery guiding up on key metrics. Shares jumped in extended trade. Cava stock dipped 0.9% to 101.94 on Thursday after hitting a fresh intraday. Shares recently broke out from a not-quite cup base and 98.69 buy point.

Ross Stores (ROST) topped Q2 consensus, sending ROST stock solidly higher in overnight action. The off-price apparel retailer fell 0.9% on Thursday to 152.52, right around a 153.06 flat-base buy point after gapping into range Wednesday on earnings from TJX Cos. (TJX).

Intuit (INTU) earnings beat fiscal Q4 estimates. INTU stock initially rose late, but then reversed modestly lower. Shares edged down 0.8% to 665.29 on Thursday after briefly topping 674.34 buy point from an awkward cup-with-handle base. That consolidation started with a failed breakout from a prior base as Intuit plunged on its Q4 earnings report.

In other news, General Motors (GM)-unit Cruise will team up with Uber Technologies (UBER) on self-driving cars.

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Stock Market Rally

The stock market rally opened higher Thursday but techs soon led a retreat, awaiting Powell’s Jackson Hole speech.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% in Thursday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index fell 0.9%. The Nasdaq composite plunged 1.7%, just undercutting the 50-day moving average. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.95%.

Thursday’s pullback looked normal, given the strong prior gains and the upcoming Powell speech and Nvidia earnings.

A variety of sectors have been acting well, with aerospace, housing, REITs, footwear and a host of medical names are looking strong along with traditional tech growth names.

U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.5% to $73.01 a barrel, ending a sharp slide over four sessions.

The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 8.5 basis points to 3.86%, rebounding from Wednesday’s 52-week closing low.

ETFs

Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) slipped 0.6%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) retreated 1.5%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tumbled 3.3%. Nvidia stock is the dominant SMH holding, with Broadcom also a key member.

Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) gave up 3% and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) 3.7%. Tesla stock is a major holding across Ark Invest holdings. However, Cathie Wood now has a bigger bet on Meta stock with Nvidia also a top-10 position now.

SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) declined 1.9%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) fell 0.4%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) gained 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) rose a fraction.

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) inched down 0.1%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.6%.

Time The Market With IBD’s ETF Market Strategy

Nvidia Stock

Nvidia stock fell 3.7% to 123.80 on Thursday, stepping back after a big run from the Aug. 5 lows. NVDA stock has a 140.76 cup-base buy point with 136.15 as an alternate entry. Investors could use this week’s highs as an aggressive, pseudo-handle entry. But Nvidia earnings loom on Aug. 28.

Meta Stock

Meta stock briefly topped a 542.81 buy point, according to MarketSurge, but reversed to close down 0.6% at 531.93.

Broadcom Stock

Broadcom stock shed 1.9% to 162.56, reversing from an intraday peak of 172.42. AVGO stock would be actionable above Tuesday’s high 168.37. The chip and software giant has a 185.16 buy point, though investors could treat this as a lopsided double-bottom base with a 177.10 entry. Nvidia earnings could be a big deal for Broadcom, which has its own results on Sept. 5.

Arista Stock

Arista stock gave up 1.05% to 352.17, now giving it a 358.68 handle buy point in a consolidation going back to early July. ANET stock was the first major AI hardware play to regain its 50-day line after the Aug. 5 global sell-off.

Nvidia is a growing rival in the AI networking space, while Arista uses a lot of Broadcom products, so the chip giants’ earnings reports will be important for ANET stock.

Nvidia, Arista Networks Square Off In AI Networking Battle

Shift4 Stock

Shift4 stock edged up 0.3% to 79.13. As of Thursday’s close, FOUR stock now has 39%-deep cup-with-handle base, with an 83.64 buy point. The handle forged after a strong, high-volume run.

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock slumped 5.65% to 210.66, below the 50-day line. Shares have formed a new base with a 271 buy point, though they’re near the bottom of the consolidation. A strong move off the 50-day line could offer an early entry into TSLA stock, perhaps using the Aug. 20 high of 228.22 as a specific trigger.

What To Do Now

The stock market rally looks healthy heading into Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, which could be a major catalyst to the upside or downside — or a nonevent.

Investors could have gradually added stocks over the past several sessions. Thursday’s action shows the benefit of not ramping up exposure on a single day.

now need to watch the market reaction to Powell to see if they should step up exposure or step back. Especially for AI stocks, don’t forget that Nvidia earnings just a few days away.

Have your watchlists and exit strategies up to date.

Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.

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