A big day for shares of Wal-Mart (WMT) on Tuesday helped push the Dow Jones industrial average to another record high, while Nvidia (NVDA) helped the Nasdaq composite's cause with a record high of its own.
X At the close, the Dow added 0.3%, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq edged up 0.1%. Preliminary data showed volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq coming in more than 20% Monday's levels, but keep in mind volume was light Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday.
Oil drillers outperformed as crude oil reclaimed the $50 level with conviction. Benchmark WTI crude oil futures for November delivery settled at $50.92 a barrel, up 2.7%, ahead of weekly inventory data Wednesday
In the stock market today, Wal-Mart was a big winner in the Dow, up 4.5% to 84.13, after the company at its investor day forecast a 40% jump in e-commerce sales in fiscal 2019. It also declared a $20 billion share buyback. Wal-Mart is still in buy range after a breakout from a flat base with an 82.09 buy point.
Elsewhere, airlines took flight after United Continental (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) offered up strong Q3 unit revenue and margin guidance. Shares of United jumped nearly 5%, but it's still 18% off its high with its 200-day moving average around 71 looming large as a potential resistance. American Airlines, however, offers up a much better chart as it works on the right side of a cup-shaped base with a 54.58 buy point. Shares picked up nearly 5% to 53.03.
Inside the IBD 50, Nvidia gained about 2% to 188.93. After retracing a 9% gain from a 174.66 buy point, Nvidia found support at the 50-day moving average, then started heading higher again. Shares were strong after the company revealed new hardware for self-driving taxis. It's extended in price now.
Group peer and fellow IBD 50 component Ichor (ICHR) extended gains after a recent breakout from a cup-with-handle base with a 25.41 buy point. The small cap soared nearly 12% to 30.05, helped by positive comments by Deutsche Bank and a raised price target to 32 from 26. Note that Ichor's weekly chart shows an alternate handle entry of 28.46, a justifiable entry for those that missed the initial breakout.
IBD'S TAKE: The chip-equipment group is still teeming with leaders. See who the top-rated names in the group are with IBD Stock Checkup.
Tesla (TSLA) rebounded 3.7%, recovering nearly all of Monday's loss, after Morgan Stanley upped its price target to 379 from 317, citing infrastructure development, industry expansion and Tesla Model 3 launch milestones. The stock has been under pressure lately as concerns mount regarding the production of the new Model 3 sedan. Tesla on Monday said it was delaying the launch of its semitrailer truck until November to deal with bottlenecks in Model 3 production.
Economic data was light Tuesday, but the minutes from last month's Fed meeting will be released Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. Not that long ago, the CME Group FedWatch tool only saw a 50% chance of one more rate hike by the Fed before the end of the year. It now sees an 87% chance for a quarter-point hike to 1.25% to 1.5%.
The 10-year Treasury yield was recently trading around 2.34%, down 1 basis point.
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