Tech stocks took flight again Wednesday, helped by strength in two FANG stocks. In the stock market today, shares of Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) added nearly 2%, while Amazon.com (AMZN) rose nearly 3%, helped by positive comments from Morgan Stanley. Alphabet still has a bullish chart and is in buy range as it gets support at the 10-week moving average.
The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 hit fresh highs with gains of 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively. The Russell 2000 small-cap index picked up 0.3%, and the Dow Jones industrial average lagged with a 0.2% gain. Apple (AAPL), Visa (V), Microsoft (MSFT) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) outperformed in the Dow with gains of around 1%.
The Nasdaq 100 also jumped to a new high, helped by strength in Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX). In the biotech space, Vertex boasts strong earnings growth in recent quarters. Technicals are also bullish. The stock topped a 183.49 buy point, but volume was light. Shares rose 2.5% to 185.45.
The stock market today served up other breakouts from the likes of Adobe Systems (ADBE), Mastercard (MA) and PayPal (PYPL).
In stock market results today, small-cap Shoe Carnival (SCVL) gapped up on strong earnings. The stock was off session highs, but shares still rose 12%. Shoe Carnival’s results come on the heels of a strong report from DSW (DSW) yesterday.
Other heavy-volume gainers included Medpace (MEDP), up 3%. The company is a contract research organization, providing outsourced clinical development services to the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The stock has done a good job of holding gains since its July 31 gap-up in price. Shares were strong after the company reported a 61% rise in Q2 profit. Sales jumped 60% to $170.1 million.
Inside the IBD 50, ServiceNow (NOW) reclaimed a 194.91 flat-base entry after initially clearing the buy point on Monday. Shares were up more than 2% to 198.99. Fellow enterprise software name Salesforce.com (CRM), another top cloud-computing stock, reports earnings after the close today.
On the downside, Roku (ROKU) slumped more than 4% to around 60 on news that Amazon is planning an ad-supported free video app, similar to what Roku offers. Despite Wednesday’s heavy-volume decline, Roku is not flashing any sell signals as it holds comfortably above a 51.92 buy point. It’s currently seeking short-term support at the 10-day moving average.
