Dow Jones struggles; Elon Musk Sues Twitter Employee; Coinbase Gains Reach Bitcoin Rally

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged lower on Monday as the stock market struggled to turn positive. Tesla ( TSLA ) CEO Elon Musk subpoenaed a key former Twitter employee as his takeover battle took another twist. Coin base (COIN) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) emerged as Bitcoin surged. apple ( AAPL ) fell despite a bullish analyst call.

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Meanwhile, a trio of notable stocks looked bullish despite mixed action. Exxon Mobil (XOM), United Parcel service (UPS) and NRG Energy (NRG) all showed strength near buy points.

Volume fell on both Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange vs. same time Friday.

The benchmark 10-year government bond yield jumped eight basis points to 3.11%. West Texas Intermediate crude rose more than 4% to nearly $97 a barrel.

Stocks tried to take a stand after Friday’s shellacking, triggered by a hawkish Jackson Hole speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Nasdaq Off Lows; FFTY shines

The Nasdaq composite had the toughest time out of the major indexes, down around 0.6%. Octa (OKTA) was among the worst with a decline of over 3%.

The S&P 500 has battled session lows but is still down 0.3% in the final hour of trading. Catalent (CTLT) is struggling here, falling around 7%.

Blue-chip sectors are mostly red. Energy and utilities are among the best performers, while health and technology lag behind.

Small caps have also fought back against growling bears, with the Russell 2000 down just 0.3% after bottoming at the open.

Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY), a watch for growth stocks, is doing best, up approx. 0.8%.

Dow Jones today: Apple shares fall despite bullish call

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was near highs for the day, but held back slightly.

Apple shares disappointed, falling nearly 1% despite JPMorgan reiterating its overweight rating. The analyst noted that the iPhone “continues to have favorable lead times across geographies.”

AAPL stock is currently below a trade-buy point of 176.25, according to MarketSmith analysis.

Walmart (WMT) and Chevron (CVX) are the top Dow Jones performers today, both up around 1.5%.

Elon Musk makes Twitter legal move

The ongoing takeover feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Twitter took a new twist on Monday.

The eccentric leader’s lawyer has issued a subpoena to Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko, according to court documents.

This development comes after Twitter’s former security chief alleged that the tech giant intentionally undercounted and misrepresented the number of bots on the platform.

This is a key plank of Musk’s argument that he should be able to walk away from his deal to buy the firm. A trial in the case is scheduled for October.

Tesla shares have fallen almost 1% on the stock market today. It lost some ground on the key 200-day moving average, according to MarketSmith analysis.

Twitter shares have also fallen, giving up around 0.5%. It is holding above its 50-day moving average, but lost ground on its 200-day line.

Coinbase stock, RIOT gains as Bitcoin rallies

Coinbase got a boost as Bitcoin rallied. COIN stock has impressed by fighting its way out of negative territory to gain nearly 3% as the trading day draws to a close. The volume has been lighter, although this was a bit of comfort.

The stock appears to be finding support at its 50-day line. This is important, as the cryptocurrency exchange was hit after it cut its full-year forecast earlier this month.

COIN shares are down almost 73% since the start of 2022, so there is a lot of work to be done.

Bitcoin made its own comeback after being knocked lower following Fed Chairman Powell’s Jackson Hole speech. It’s trading back above the $20,000 mark after gaining about 1% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk.

Other cryptocurrencies have mixed fortunes. Bitcoin mining game Riot Blockchain (RIOT) is up more than 4%, but Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is down almost 1%

Outside the Dow Jones: 3 strong stocks near buy points

Investors should keep an eye on strong stocks despite the choppy recent action.

Exxon Mobil stock is worth watching as it has a consolidation pattern entry at 105.67, according to MarketSmith analysis.

In addition, the relative strength line is sitting near new highs, an encouraging sign.

XOM stock has a near-perfect IBD Composite Rating of 97. Stock market trends are bullish, and the stock has risen 59% since the start of the year.

Improving earnings results add credibility to a bullish outlook Exxon Mobile warehouse.

UPS stock is another strong performer as it sees a new entry. It has formed a cup-with-handle pattern with a buy point of 209.49. It made an encouraging move by retracing its 200-day moving average on August 10. This now acts as a support area.

The stock has a strong Composite Rating of 88 out of 99. Earnings are a key strength, with EPS growing an average of 18% over the past three quarters.

Finally, NRG Energy is trying to reach a cup-with-handle base entry of 44. The stock’s RS line has risen this month, though it’s still not high.

The electric company’s composite rating is 91. It is an institutional favorite, with 65% of its shares in mutual funds.

Follow Michael Larkin on Twitter at @IBD_MLarkin for more growth stock analysis.

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