The Dow industrials stumbled at the finish Wednesday as the major indexes posted a mixed close.
The Nasdaq led by strides, up 0.4% and lifting the index to a 1.2% gain so far for the week. The S&P 500 managed a 0.1% gain, while the Dow Jones industrial average backed off 0.2%.
Trading volume was weak Wednesday in a session complicated by bleed-through from overseas, where the U.K. officially set in motion its two-year deadline to negotiate an exit from the European Union. U.S. legislators also weighed in, approving a bill late Tuesday that would permit much broader use of consumer data by internet service providers. Rising oil prices, analyst upgrades and downgrades, and the season's slowing trickle of earnings reports also had their say on today's stock market action.
Department stores, ranked dead last among IBD's 197 industry groups, scored Tuesday's best gain among industries. Dillard's (DDS) surged 8%, JCPenney (JCP) jumped 6% and Nordstrom (JWN) rung up a 5% gain.
Home-furnishings retailers posted the second-largest gain among industries. RH (RH), formerly Restoration Hardware, was the big winner here, marking up a 15% gain. The high-end-furnishings retailer reported fourth-quarter revenue and earnings declines slightly better than its pre-announced guidance. Management's first-quarter revenue guidance was well above consensus projections.
Williams Sonoma (WSM) caught some of the updraft, posting a 4% gain in heavy trade — enough to retake support at the stock's 200-day moving average.
Chevron (CVX) led the Dow industrials, up 0.8% and aided by a 2% pop in oil prices. UnitedHealth (UNH) notched the Dow's weakest move, down 1.1%.
The S&P 500's top dog Wednesday was Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX). The Boston-based biotech vaulted 20% higher after reporting positive results from clinical trials of its experimental cystic fibrosis treatment pill combining tezacaftor and ivacaftor. The gain sent shares beyond buy range above a double-bottom-base buy point of 98.03
Amazon.com (AMZN) led the FANG group of big tech names, rising 2.2% in firm trade. Barclays initiated coverage on Amazon, Facebook (FB) and Alphabet (GOOGL) with overweight ratings. Facebook rose 0.6%; Alphabet jumped 1.2%.
Amazon's move lifted the IBD Leaderboard stock past an 860.96 buy point in a four-weeks-tight pattern.
Among IBD 50 stocks, China-based Weibo (WB) swatted a 4% advance after Barclays also launched coverage of the microblogging site with a 66 price target. Shares ended in buy range above a prior buy point of 52.59.
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