Dow Jones Reclaims 34,000 Level, Helped By Intel Stock; Chip-Equipment Giants Jump On Taiwan Semi News

Near midday on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were in a rallying mode. Intel (INTC), Leaderboard stock Microsoft(MSFT), and Nvidia (NVDA), were the top gainers in the Dow.

Nvidia's stock attempted to break through a base on Thursday, but was pulled down by the market late. It was trading at 476.09 early Friday morning.

After NVDA hit a peak of 476.09, the base has been shaken up. The stock broke through the 400-level in late October, and then slashed its intraday low of Sept. 21, before rising off those lows. The earnings are due after the close on Nov. 21, 2018.

Semiconductor shares were among the best performers on Tuesday after Taiwan Semiconductor reported an 16% increase in revenue for October. TSM's stock rose more than 5% while other chip-equipment companies outperformed.

Lam Research (LRCX) is one of those in the ascendant, up 5%. It's poised to make its ninth consecutive gain. KLA (KLAC), Applied Materials, and KLA all surpassed a 148.40 price entry.

Dow Jones: Looking for the Next Uptrend

Around 12:45 p.m., gains in the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ranged between 0.8% and 1.5%. After the Nasdaq Composite and S&P500 marked distribution days on Thursday, ET was triggered. It's still a confirmed upward trend, but distribution days are important to watch. A clustering of stocks can be problematic for an upward trend.

Apple (AAPL), Boeing BA and Caterpillar CAT were also among the Dow Jones top performers.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose by 11 basis points Thursday to around 4.63%. Early on Friday, the yield dipped to around 4.62%.

The bond market was impacted by the fact that demand for 30-year bonds was low at Thursday's auction. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, said that he was not confident in the Federal Open Market Committee's ability to reduce inflation.

Earnings Winners: Light & Wonder, Palo Alto

Gaming equipment company Light & Wonder, or LNW, was among the top earners on Friday. The company reported a 671 percent increase in its quarterly profit, despite having a market cap north of $7 billion.

The revenue growth was not as impressive at 13%, but was still better than FactSet's consensus estimate of $717.3 millions. LNW demonstrated bullish technical actions by reclaiming the 78.96-handle buy point.

Palo Alto Networks' (PANW), which is due to report earnings next week, has bounced off of its 50-day average. Security software continues to be a leader in the stock market, with stocks like Zscaler(ZS), CrowdStrike(CRWD), CyberArk(CYBR) or Qualys trading well.

Zscaler, a Leaderboard Stock. The portfolio of the Leaderboard model is currently slightly over 80% invested and holds 12 names.

Oil Stocks Rally

West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2% to $77.25 per barrel, which helped MarketSmith Growth 250 stocks such as TechnipFMC and Weatherford. FTI was up 2%, as it held support at the 50 day line and traded near a 21,67 entry. WFRD is also in a similar situation with a buy point of 97.88.

Dow Jones Chevron (CVX), a Dow Jones stock, edged up. CVX has been heavily impacted by institutional sales after it gapped below all of its key moving averages in October.

MarketSmith Growth 250 also saw a strong performance from Advanced Micro Devices, Nutanix and Palantir.

Outside Dow Jones: Big Fall for Trade Desk

Trade Desk (TTD), despite a 27% rise in profit for the third quarter, saw a sharp decline. The ad-buying site's revenue growth accelerated in the second quarter. It grew 25% year-over-year to $493,3 million. TTD's fourth-quarter revenue prediction was lower than expected.

Morgan Stanley lowered TTD's target price to 70 from 95, but maintained an overweight rating. Trade Desk closed at 76.81 on Thursday.

After reporting earnings, several other stocks plunged sharply on Friday. These included casino operator Wynn Resorts(WYNN), Diageo(DEO), Illumina(ILMN), and Unity Software. Unity Software, however, turned positive after falling by 12% intraday.

Copart (CPRT), one of the stocks included in IBD 50, rose at least 2%. It broke out of a 17-week consolidate. Duolingo, an IBD 50 company, followed up on Thursday's earnings.