Dow Jones Futures: Market Rally Nears Lows Amid Ukraine Invasion, Looming Fed

Dow Jones futures will open on Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. The stock market rally attempt continues to survive, but the major indexes lost significant ground for a second straight session as Russia’s Ukraine invasion continues to roil markets. The Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates this coming week with inflation at a 40-year high.

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The time to ramp up market exposure is in a power trend. But right now, the market is in a power outage. The major indexes have been below their 21-day and 50-day moving averages for weeks. The 21-day exponential moving average has been well below the 50-day line for a long time, with both falling sharply. All of that reflects the recent and extended market weakness, despite some brief advances.

Dow Jones giant UnitedHealth (UNH), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and Harmony Biosciences (HRMY) are showing relatively positive action. All are near buy points or early entries with their relative strength lines at or near highs.

It’s also no coincidence that all three are medical stocks, relatively insulated from Russia’s Ukraine war and soaring inflation.

Apple, Tesla Stock Roughed Up

Two stocks that aren’t showing positive action? Apple stock and Tesla (TSLA).

Apple (AAPL), which until recently had held up reasonably well, tumbled 5.2% to 154.73 last week, its worst weekly loss in just over a year. Shares settled Friday at their worst close since late November, closing in on the 200-day line.

Tesla stock skidded 5.1% last week to 795.35, with all of that coming on Friday. After hitting resistance at its 21-day line, Tesla tumbled back below its 200-day line late in the week. While still comfortably above its late February lows and holding up better than many of its peers, TSLA stock is not doing well.

Tesla is on IBD Leaderboard. UnitedHealth, Regeneron and HRMY stock are on the IBD 50. UNH stock is the subject of the latest New America.

Russia’s Ukraine Invasion

With earnings season winding down, investors will remain focused on Russia’s Ukraine invasion. The stock market, oil prices and more are prone to big moves on Russia-Ukraine headlines that often quickly reverse. Dow Jones futures popped Friday morning as Russian President Vladimir Putin cited a “positive shift” in Ukraine talks, but that optimism quickly faded and turned negative in the regular session.

President Joe Biden said the U.S., European Union and the Group Of Seven nations will revoke normal trade relations with Russia, paving the way for new tariffs over the Ukraine invasion.

On Saturday, a senior Russian diplomat said Moscow could target Western ships carrying  military aid to Ukraine, saying “it’s an action that makes those convoys legitimate targets.” Any such attack would be a massive escalation that could trigger direct NATO attacks on Russia’s already-struggling military. As a practical matter, those convoys are likely heavily protected and would be difficult to target.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have have started discussing concrete issues vs. simply making ultimatums.

There are unconfirmed reports…