Dow Jones Dips While Nasdaq Pares Losses; Retail Leaders Macy’s

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded in negative territory, but off its early lows in today’s stock market. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reversed out of losses and into modest gains.

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Dow Jones In The Stock Market Today

In early afternoon trade, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.3%, leading on the upside. The Dow Jones industrials held a 0.2% loss, while the S&P 500 rose nearly 0.3%. The small-cap Russell 2000 index slumped 0.7% and led on the downside. Volume ran higher on the Nasdaq and on the NYSE vs. the same time on Wednesday.

Early Thursday, the Labor Department reported jobless claims rose to 268,000 the week ended Nov. 13. This was above Econoday’s estimate for a decline to 261,000 filings, vs. an upwardly revised 269,000 claims in the prior week.

More retail stocks reported earnings late Wednesday and early Thursday, including department stores Kohl’s (KSS) and Macy’s (M). Both gapped higher following strong reports. Macy’s beat top and bottom line estimates, while raising guidance for full-year EPS and sales. Shares soared over 20% and became extended from a recent 28.51 ascending-base buy point.

Meanwhile, Kohl’s also beat estimates as shares jumped nearly 10%, at the open. The stock pared its early gains to around 7.9%. Shares remain inside the 5% buy zone above a 60.60 double-bottom base entry. The Retail-Department Stores industry group collectively gained more than 223% for the year through Wednesday, and currently ranks No. 1 among the 197 industry groups tracked by IBD.

Elsewhere, Bath & Body Works (BBWI) rose over 6% to a nearly six-year high in heavy volume. Late Wednesday, the specialty retailer beat analyst views in its first report since L Brands company split into BBWI and Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) in early August.

Additionally, Victoria’s Secret rose over 16% despite mixed results. Thursday’s climb sent the stock above its 50-day line, offering an aggressive entry. But investors may want to wait for the stock to prove itself first and form a base above this key area of support.

Dow Jones retailer Home Depot (HD) rallied 2.4%, driving this week’s post-earnings gain to nearly 9%. And the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) gained 1.6% and remains inside the buy zone of a 99.34 long saucer entry.

Growth Stocks To Watch

The growth-focused Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) rose 0.8%, outpacing the big benchmark indexes. The ETF is once again testing support at its 21-day exponential moving average. Stocks boosting the index n Thursday included Nvidia (NVDA) and Atkore (ATKR), with gains of around 7% each.

After the market close, IBD Leaderboard stock Nvidia reported strong earnings, which caused the stock to gap up and soar over 8% in heavy volume to a new high. Nvidia earned an adjusted $1.17 a share on sales of $7.1 billion for the period ended Oct. 31. Analysts expected $1.11 a share on sales of $6.82 billion, according to FactSet.

Shares are sharply extended from a 230.53 buy point of a shallow consolidation,…