Dow Jones Hits New High As Stocks Rally On Jobs Data; Earnings Fuel

Key market indexes hit new highs Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average led thanks to big gains from Visa, Disney and Boeing.

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The Dow Jones industrials rallied 0.5%, the S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq advanced 0.1% in the stock market today. Small caps tracked by the Russell 2000 outperformed, up 1.2%. Volume rose on both major exchanges vs. the same time Thursday.

Among exchange traded funds, Innovator IBD 50 (FFTY) fell 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) added 0.6%. The IBD 50 ETF rebounded off its 50-day moving average last week. It’s now shaping a new flat base with a 52.56 buy point.

Early Friday, the Labor Department said the U.S. added 531,000 jobs in October, topping Econoday estimates for a 450,000 job increase. That was also up from an upwardly revised 312,000 in September. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% in October, from 4.8% the prior month.

The U.S. economy continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered nationwide lockdowns over a year ago. A resurgence in cases fueled by the more contagious delta variant has recently started to slow down as vaccinations rise.

Cumulative Covid-19 cases worldwide are approaching 250 million, with over 5 million deaths, according to Worldometer. In the U.S., cases have surpassed 47 million with more than 772,000 deaths.

Growth Stocks To Watch

IBD 50 stock Datadog (DDOG) gapped up and soared 10% in fast turnover to a new high. Shares are well extended from a 110.34 buy point of a cup with handle and subsequent rebound off the 10-week moving average. Late Thursday, the enterprise software maker delivered a beat-and-raise Q3 report. Datadog is an IBD Leaderboard stock.

Other big IBD 50 winners included Confluent (CFLT) and Bill.com (BILL), up a respective 18% and 12%. Both software stocks marked record highs after reporting Q3 results.

But Dynavax Technologies (DVAX) gapped down and sank 18% to breach its 50-day line for the first time in months. Shares fell despite the vaccine maker’s better-than-expected Q3 results after the close Thursday. Some Covid-vaccine stocks were lower on news of a promising treatment.

Progyny (PGNY) bolted 13% in early trade to clear a 64.45 buy point of a cup with handle, according to MarketSmith chart analysis. But it erased the bulk of its gains to fall below the entry and was up just 0.4% Friday afternoon. Late Thursday, the health care company reported mixed Q3 results. Due to its extreme volatility, Progyny exited the Leaderboard watch list.

Outside The IBD 50

Microchip Technology (MCHP) rallied 4% to a new high in twice normal trade. Shares surged past an 83.43 buy point of a long…