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Stocks Up At Open; AutoZone Rallies; This IBD 50 Chipmaker Soars

Stocks jumped at Tuesday's open, as chip companies and automakers like Tesla (TSLA) rallied on positive tariff news from China, while AutoZone (AZO) and Advance Auto Parts (AAP) led retailers rising on earnings reports.

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The Dow industrials gained 0.2%, the S&P 500 popped 0.3% at the starting bell. General Electric (GE) led the Dow. Among S&P 500 stocks, Micron Technology (MU), AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts took the early lead.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4%, with Micron, NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) lifting the Nasdaq 100.

Both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 remain well below their January highs, but the indexes have gained 6.3% and 5.4%, respectively, since their last bounce off 200-day support on May 3. Both are in relatively comfortable holdings patterns above their 50-day moving averages.

The Nasdaq staged its bounce off the 200-day line in early April. It has since gained 8.7%, and is a bit more than 3% from its March 13 high mark.

Auto Rally: Fiat, GM Lead On China Tariff Trim Pledge

Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) led an early advance among automakers, up more than 2%, after news reports said China's Finance Ministry announced plans to reduce some tariffs on imported vehicles. Fiat shares are trading below a 24.51 buy point in a cup-with-handle base.

General Motors (GM) swung up 1.4% and Ford (F) added 1%.

Micron Jumps On Buyback, China; AutoZone, Advance Auto Head Retail Rally

General Electric led the Dow with a 0.8% advance. GE shares jumped 2% Monday after the company announced it would offload its transportation unit to Wabtec (WAB) in an $11.1 billion deal. GE shares are up 11% since finding support at their 10-week moving average in early May.

IBD 50 stock Micron Technology jumped nearly 8% in early action. The company announced late Monday it would launch a $10 billion share-buyback initiative. Earlier in the day, the memory chip maker raised its fiscal third-quarter earnings guidance to well above consensus views. The gain lifted the stock to 6% below a 63.52 buy point in a late-stage cup base.

In earnings news, Photronics (PLAB) spiked 17%. The Brookfield, Conn.-based company turned a broad revenue and earnings beat for its fiscal second quarter. Also, management guided third-quarter sales and earnings above expectations. The stock, in a 17-month downtrend, trades below 10.

Among retailers, Kohl's (KSS) reversed its opening gain and dropped 4% after reporting better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. However, revenue growth stopped just short of some forecasts. The stock finished Monday's session 2% below a 67.10 buy point in a first-stage, double-bottom base.

The country's two largest auto parts retailers also reported, with both delivering mixed results. AutoZone gained 3% in opening trade. Advance Auto climbed almost 2%.

IBD Leaderboard stock Pure Storage (PSTG) pared its early loss to less than 7% after reporting earnings results. Four analysts maintained buy or overweight ratings on the stock after the data-storage leader beat first-quarter sales and earnings forecasts late Monday.

European Stocks Gain; Richmond Fed Survey Coming Up

A light economic calendar for Tuesday is led by the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank's regional manufacturing index, due out at 10 a.m. ET.

Overseas, Asian stock markets clocked a mixed session, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 0.6% and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 taking a 0.2% loss. In Europe, markets gained strength in afternoon trade. London's FTSE 100 and Frankfurt's DAX jumped 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively, while the CAC-40 in Paris trailed with a 0.2% gain.

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