Futures for the S&P 500 index, Nasdaq 100 and Dow industrials were little changed early Friday morning despite weak guidance from Oracle (ORCL) and a new North Korean missile launch. That follows a mixed Thursday session for the major averages, but leading stocks were more upbeat: Tesla (TSLA) and Square (SQ) broke out. Boeing (BA) closed just below a buy point, offsetting another dip by fellow Dow titan Apple (AAPL), which is still in buy range.
X S&P 500 index futures fell nearly 0.1% vs. fair value. Nasdaq 100 futures sank 0.1% against fair value while Dow futures rose nearly 0.1%. All were off their Thursday evening lows.
North Korea launched another missile over Japan after New York's market close. Recent North Korean missile and nuclear tests have unnerved overnight traders but have had little lasting market impact.
President Trump has cooled his rhetoric vs. the rogue nuclear nation in recent weeks. The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting after recently approving a slight increase in sanctions vs. North Korea.
Kim Jung-un, the latest ruler in the Kim dynasty, has stepped up the country's weapons tests in recent months.
Meanwhile, Oracle reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue, with growth continuing to gradually accelerate on the top and bottom lines as its cloud business booms. But the software giant's guidance was weaker than expected.
Oracle fell 3.6% to 50.90 in late trading on the stock market today, though it found support near its 50-day moving average around the 50 level. That would suggest a drop below a 51.95 flat-base buy point cleared on Monday.
During the regular session, the S&P 500 index fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite slid 0.5%. But the Dow rose 0.2%, hitting yet another all-time high.
Boeing Vs. Apple
Leading the way for the Dow was Boeing, rising 1.4% to 245.23. That's less than 1% below a 246.59 flat-base entry.
Boeing has been the top-performing Dow stock in 2017, easily outperforming Apple. Boeing rose a fraction in late trade as concerns about North Korea could spark demand for defense and aerospace stocks.
Apple dipped 0.9% to 158.28, its third straight modest decline since unveiling its next-generation iPhones, with the top-of-the-line iPhone X not available until Nov. 3. Apple remains in a buy range from a 165.75 entry.
Tesla, Square
Tesla jumped 3.1% to 377.64, clearing a 377.10 cup-with-handle buy point. Tesla has surged nearly 10% so far this week. Regulators partially blamed Tesla for a 2016 fatal crash, but investors didn't see any significant impact on the company's prospects. Elon Musk late Wednesday teased the likely unveiling of a semi truck next month.
Meanwhile, payment processor Square jumped 4.2% to 28.64 on Thursday, clearing a 28.07 buy point from a cup base.
Tesla and Square both show the importance of industry trends. Ferrari (RACE), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) and General Motors (GM) are all rallying, extended from their own buy points. Payment processors from PayPal (PYPL) to Visa (V) also have been acting well.
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