Dow Jones Today, Futures Edge Higher In A Strong August; Facebook,

Stock futures hovered in narrowly positive territory early Monday, as markets moved to wrap up an unusually strong August. Tech stocks showed early strength. Facebook and Chipotle Mexican Grill each rose near buy points. Dynavax led the IBD 50 list, Catalent jumped on earnings. Home Depot rebounded toward a buy point on the Dow Jones today.

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Dow Jones futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures all rose a fraction above fair value. Small caps narrowly outpaced the early action, with Russell 2000 futures gaining 0.2%. The market heads into the last couple of sessions of August sitting on its strong performance from last week. But this week’s action could be more muted as investors await yet another crucial monthly payrolls report, due on Friday, from the Labor Department.

China-based stocks were mixed early Monday after the country’s regulators rolled out a new set of rules limiting online game playing for children. Games provider NetEase (NTES) fell more than 7%. Search engine operator Baidu (BIDU) traded 0.9% higher, leading the Nasdaq 100.

Chip stocks were rising, with Nvidia (NVDA), Lam Research (LRCX) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) all up less than 1%.  The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) showed a 0.4% premarket gain. Nvidia is an IBD Leaderboard stock.

Medical research services provider Catalent (CTLT) rallied almost 3% after reporting a strong fiscal fourth-quarter performance. The move suggested the stock would move into extended territory, after clearing a 124.15 buy point in a cup-with-handle base a week ago.

Zoom Video Communications (ZM), Nordson (NDSN)  and Brazil’s Stoneco (STNE) report after the closing bell.

Dow Jones Today: Amgen, Home Depot, Microsoft

Amgen (AMGN) climbed 0.6% to lead the Dow Jones today. Home Depot (HD) ran a close second with a 0.5% gain. Home Depot has been struggling to maintain support at its 10-week moving average, after a brief breakout above a cup-with-handle base buy point at 335.55. The stock has pulled back no more than 6% below that mark, stopping short of the trigger for the automatic sell rule.

Microsoft (MSFT) joined in early gains among software names, rising 0.4%. The IBD Leaderboard listing is extended, up almost 14% after clearing a cup base buy point in June.

IBD 50, Leaderboard: Dynavax, Square

Dynavax Technologies (DVAX) headed the IBD 50 list, up more than 6% as investors continued to react to the company’s roll out, a week ago of its Covid-19 vaccine. More than 600,000 doses of the vaccine, developed jointly with Medigen Vaccine Biologics, were expected to be administered last week. Dynavax shares rose more than 40% for the week.

Also on the IBD 50 list, software IPOs Monday (MNDY) and Doximity (DOCS) were both up more than 1% in early trade. Leaderboard stock Square (SQ) gained 1.1%, after ending Friday in a buy range above an alternate handle entry at 267.87. Square’s buy zone runs to 281.26.

Overseas Markets Positive, China Tech Clamp Down Continues

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