Dow Jones futures were little changed after hours, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Cisco Systems (CSCO) headlined earnings after the close.

The stock market rally saw another advance Wednesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh highs while small caps led again.

Nvidia (NVDA)-backed CoreWeave (CRWV) dived Wednesday and Oracle (ORCL) undercut a key level as many AI data center plays struggle. Meanwhile, there was continued strength in homebuilders and many financials, along with biotech and genomics firms as well as Chinese stocks and some consumer names.

Blackstone (BX), ELF Beauty (ELF), KLA Corp. (KLAC) and Tempus AI (TEM), owned by Cathie Wood and Nancy Pelosi, flashed buy signals Wednesday.

Blackstone was Wednesday's IBD Stock Of The Day.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures were slightly above fair value. S&P 500 futures edged lower and Nasdaq 100 futures tilted higher.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Cisco Earnings

Cisco narrowly beat fiscal Q4 views and guided higher. CSCO stock edged lower late. The Dow giant fell 1.6% on Wednesday to 70.27, holding above the 69.78 buy point from a flat base as part of a base-on base formation.

Meanwhile, Coherent (COHR) beat views but guided fractionally lower on current-quarter revenue. The optical play also will sell its aerospace and defense unit to Advent for $400 million. COHR stock dived in extended action after reversing lower from a record high Wednesday.

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Stock Market Rally

The stock market rally saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lag despite hitting fresh all-time highs. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones and equal-weight ETFs are almost at record levels while the small-cap Russell 2000 surged to a six-month high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1% in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 2% after soaring 3% Tuesday.

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) rose 1.4% and the First Trust Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index ETF (QQEW) advanced nearly 1%, after both rallied more than 1% Tuesday.

CoreWeave stock dived 20.8% Wednesday following mixed results and with an IPO lockup expiration on Thursday. Oracle stock sank 3.8% on reports of layoffs in its cloud infrastructure division, below its 21-day line for the first time since late April.

AI cooling and infrastructure stocks such as Comfort Systems (FIX) and Vertiv (VRT) fell solidly as well as heavy construction names like Argan (AGX) and electric utilities such as Vistra (VST).

AI chipmakers generally held up OK. Nvidia stock dipped 0.9% while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gapped up 5.4%.

Aerospace plays also came under some pressure Wednesday.

Falling interest rates are lifting homebuilders and financials, while many bio names were strong.

It's unclear if the stock market is seeing a true rotation out of AI hardware. This could be a blip for AI plays, while the rally broadens out.

U.S. crude oil prices fell 0.8% to $62.65 a barrel.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell 5.5 basis points to 4.24%.

ETFs

Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) closed flat. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) lost a fraction, with Oracle stock a major holding. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed 0.4%, with Nvidia and AMD stock both major holdings.

ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) rallied 1.5% and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) jumped 4.5%. Tempus AI stock is a key holding across ARK Invest's ETFs and the second-largest position in Cathie Wood's ARKG.

SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) gained 0.6%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) leaped 3.9%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) advanced 1.15% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) popped 1.6%.

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) was up 0.4%. The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) climbed 0.6%, with Blackstone stock a member.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch

Stocks In Buy Areas

Blackstone stock climbed 1.6% to 176.60. BX stock is working on a 181.32 cup-with-handle buy point. The alternative asset manager is actionable from breaking the downtrend in the handle.

ELF Beauty stock jumped 5.3% to 122.92, moving above the 50-day line and a trendline within a short consolidation. Investors could view the pattern as a short double-bottom base, giving a 124.31 buy point. ELF stock has rocketed 30.8% since tumbling to an intraday low of 94 on July 27 following earnings.

KLA stock rose 1.5% to 949.48 just topping a 945.87 buy point while still being close to the 10-week line. KLAC cleared a short consolidation or high handle to a long base.

Tempus AI popped 7.2% to 76.94, now clearly above a 65.82 early entry. TEM stock has surged 14.4% this week, buoyed by earnings. Shares are working on a cup base with a 74.83 buy point. In addition to Tempus being a big Cathie Wood holding, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a sizable stake early this year.

Time The Market With IBD's ETF Market Strategy

What To Do Now

The stock market rally continues to look strong. The uptrend could be at the start of a rotation or broadening out.

It's often hard to know when to be patient with market shifts and when to take action. Broadly, it makes sense to try to get a foothold in emerging leadership, ready to expand if those names keep working. On the flip slide, you can consider trimming exposure to AI hardware, especially if a specific name is tumbling or wiping out gains.

But a lot will depend on your investing style and how heavily invested or concentrated you are.

Having up-to-date watchlists and casting a wide net with your screens can help spot potential new leadership early on.

Nvidia, Vertiv and Vistra are on IBD Leaderboard, with CoreWeave stock on the Leaderboard watchlist. KLAC stock is on IBD Long-Term Leaders. CoreWeave stock is on the IBD 50, along with Nvidia, Vertiv and Comfort Systems. Vertiv stock, Comfort Systems and Nvidia are on the IBD Big Cap 20. Nvidia and FIX stock are on IBD Sector Leaders.

Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.

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