Dow Jones Futures Rise On U.S.-Russia Meeting After Market Rally Flashes Bearish Signal

Dow Jones futures rose early Friday morning, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, on news of a high-level U.S.-Russia meeting. The stock market rally sold off Thursday, with the S&P 500 tumbling back below its 200-day line as Russia-Ukraine tensions once again were front and center. Roku (ROKU) reported mixed earnings after the close. Roku stock plunged overnight. Deere (DE) earnings are on tap Friday morning, with DE stock holding around a buy zone. Apple (AAPL) and UNP stock are also showing some strength. But Nvidia (NVDA) sold off following earnings. Tesla (TSLA) reversed downward amid some negative headlines.

Russia Invasion Threat ‘Very High’

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov late next week, a State Department spokesman said Thursday night, “provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine.” That raised some hopes for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Earlier, President Joe Biden warned that the threat is “very high” that Russia will likely invade Ukraine “in the next several days.” U.S. officials have said Russia is massing additional forces near the Ukraine border, refuting Kremlin claims that it’s withdrawing some troops. Russia accused Ukraine of genocide on Thursday, offering a possible pretext to invasion. Moscow also expelled the No. 2 official at the U.S. embassy from the country.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures rose 0.5% vs. fair value on news of the Blinken-Lavrov meeting. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.55% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.6%. The 10-year Treasury yields rose 1 basis point to 1.98%. U.S. crude oil prices fell slightly. Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Key Earnings

Roku earnings topped views Thursday night, along with user levels. But revenue came in light and the streaming media platform guided low on Q1 revenue. Roku stock fell 22% overnight. Shares already sold off 10% in Thursday’s regular session to 144.71. Roku stock is set to break below its late January lows to its worst level since mid-2020. Shares peaked at 490.76 in July 2021. Heading into Friday’s earnings, Deere stock fell 2.6% to 380.53 on Thursday, back below the 388.20 handle buy point. DE stock also seems to be forming a new handle for the broader consolidation going back nine months. The relative strength line for DE stock has been trending higher for several weeks and is at a nine-month highs.

Stocks In Focus

Apple stock fell 2.1% to 168.88 on Thursday, just below its 50-day line. But it’s not far from a cup-with-handle buy point of 176.75. The RS line for AAPL stock is holding at record highs. Union Pacific (UNP) dipped 1.1% to 250.99. It’s just below a 256.21 buy point in a flat base that’s just 8% deep, according to MarketSmith analysis. The rail operator reclaimed its 50-day line on Tuesday. Even at the traditional buy point, UNP stock would be close to its 50-day line. On the downside, Nvidia stock tumbled 7.6% on Thursday. Nvidia earnings and guidance were strong late Wednesday, though there were some concerns about margins. NVDA stock had been coming up to short-term highs, a trendline and a falling 50-day line, signaling a possible aggressive entry. But Nvidia stock was turned away hard. The negative Nvidia earnings reaction reflects how unforgiving the current market can be when it comes to earnings. Tesla stock sank 5.1% to 876.35. On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced yet another Tesla probe, this time involving Autopilot “phantom braking” in up to 416,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. Complaints of random, repeated braking, sometimes at highway speeds, have mounted in recent months. Also, Consumer Reports named the Ford Mustang Mach-E as its top EV pick, replacing the Tesla Model 3. TSLA stock has traded relatively tightly in recent weeks after weeks of whipsaw action. But Tesla stock has been hitting resistance at the 21-day moving average. Holding the 200-day line is important, while there is not a clear early entry right now. The official buy point is 1,208.10. Nvidia and Tesla stocks are on IBD Leaderboard. Nvidia stock also is on the IBD 50 list. Union Pacific (UNP) was Thursday’s IBD Stock Of The Day. The video embedded in this article discussed the shaky market rally and analyzed Apple stock, Commercial Metals (CMC) and CrowdStrike (CRWD).