Dow Jones Rallies As Schumer Makes Debt-Ceiling Push Amid This Worry; Microsoft Stock Up Amid AI Deal

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher, as Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer worked to push through a deal on debt ceilings. Dollar General (DG), a major retailer, has seen its earnings plummet. Microsoft (MSFT), which has an AI agreement with a startup backed Nvidia, rose. Dell Technologies (DELL), which was briefly halted after the release of earnings during this session, rose.

There were very few breakouts despite the positive index movement. Cameco's (CCJ), which has a handle, cleared a trendline. Celsius' (CELH), on the other hand, has a trendline. Pure Storage (PSTG), a storage company, rallied beyond a buy point of 32.28.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 3 basis points to 3.61 percent, while that of the 2-year Treasury dropped 5 basis points to 4.35 percent. The yields fell after Federal Reserve officials indicated they planned to keep rates unchanged this month. CME FedWatch Tool has dramatically reduced the odds of a rate increase.

Schumer pushes debt-ceiling bill despite this issue

Most Republicans and Democrats voted in favor of the bill to raise the debt ceiling.

There was no time to celebrate, because the bill must now pass the upper house. Schumer's tone was upbeat.

The Democratic leader stated that "this is the best we can do for our economy right now and for American families." I'm confident that the Senate will get this done. But it will take a concerted and focused bipartisan effort to bring us to the finish line.

Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, threatened to block passage of the defense budget.

Graham (R, S.C.), said on the Senate Floor: "I am tired of default being used as an excuse to weaken the military when we most need it."

Susan Collins, a fellow Republican senator from Maine, was also upset about the defense spending cap of $886 billion for 2024. This will increase to $895 billion by 2025.

Other opponents of certain aspects of this bill include Utah Republican Mike Lee and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, as well progressive Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Nasdaq Pops As IBD 50 Shines

The Nasdaq closed up 1.3%, better than other major indices. Match (MTCH), a leading performer, gained 10.2% despite being in a deep decline.

S&P 500 benchmark made a solid 1% gain. NetApp (NTAP), with an increase of 8.5%, was the star performer.

The Nasdaq as well as the S&P 500 closed at their highest levels since August. Early data shows that volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq was lower.

S&P 500 sector performance was almost entirely positive. The top performers were technology and industrials. Consumer staples and utilities were the only areas that lagged.

Russell 2000 also showed off its muscles with a jump of more than 1%. The Innovator IBD50 ETF (FFTY), which tracks growth stocks, also joined the party. It ended the session with a 1.4% gain.

Dow Jones Today: Apple, American Express Stocks Lift Index

The Dow Jones gained 153 points or 0.5%.

American Express (AXP), with an increase of 2.6%, was the best. Visa (V), not far behind, saw a 2.5% gain.

Apple (AAPL), which posted a 1,6% gain, rallied to the Dow Jones close today. Apple closed at its highest level since January 2022. MarketSmith's analysis shows that the computing play is clear from all of its moving averages.

Microsoft up amid AI deal with Nvidia-backed startup

Microsoft, a Dow Jones company, also rose on the news of a new artificial intelligence agreement. Insiders tell CNBC that the software giant has signed a multi-year deal with CoreWeave, which could be worth millions of dollars.

Microsoft will pay an enormous sum to the Nvidia-backed company for its cloud computing infrastructure.

Microsoft Partner OpenAI, who operates ChatGPT will have access to sufficient computing power.

Microsoft has already released a ChatGPT enhanced version of its Bing Search engine. It will also be bringing this technology to the Office suite.

Nvidia has invested in CoreWeave for $100 million. Microsoft and Nvidia have been identified as key players in the AI push.

MSFT's stock closed the session with a 1.3% gain and is now well-extended. Nvidia did even better, gaining 5.1%. Microsoft has gained nearly 39% in 2023 while NVDA is up by nearly 178%.

Dollar General Earnings Sink Stock; Retailers Mixed

Dollar General has surrendered after a disastrous report on earnings. DG stock plunged 19.6% making it today's worst performing S&P 500 company.

The massive volume of the stock's decline caused it to lose more ground on its 50-day moving average.

Retail stocks had a mixed day. Macy's, the department store leader, reversed upwards despite its forecast being cut and revenue missing estimates. Stock closed below highs, but rose by 1.2%. The stock is still in a downward trend.

Nordstrom, a department store that is also a part of the JWN group, jumped on the news it had beaten views. It finished with a 4.7% gain.

Dell Earnings released, stock briefly halted

The Dell stock price was suspended after it appeared that the company had released its earnings report too early. The conference call will take place after the closing.

The company reported EPS at $1.31. This is a 29% decline, but still well above analyst expectations of 86 cents. Revenue dropped 20% to $20.92 Billion but was also above analyst expectations.

The stock of computer hardware briefly surged, before its gains were reduced to just 1.5%. The stock is trading above the 50-day line, but has not retaken its 21-day moving average.

These Stocks are Tested Outside Dow Jones

The strong upward momentum was accompanied by a surprising lack of breakouts.

Cameco cleared a cup with handle entry of 29,16 and is still in the buy range.

This is the second stage pattern. It still counts as an early stage. The volume was strong on the move. This is a positive sign. IBD Composite rating of 93 is high for the uranium mining company. The earnings are expected to rise 113% by 2023.

Celsius was able to break a short trendline at the 130-level. It would be a bold entry for the energy drink manufacturer, who is now a member of IBD Leaderboard.