The Dow Jones (DJIA) took a hit after reports that President Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. However, Trump quickly shut down that rumor, sending the index back into positive territory.
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“I don’t rule out anything. But I think it’s highly unlikely. Unless he has to leave for fraud, I mean, it’s possible there’s fraud involved with the $2.5, $2.7 billion renovation,” said Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Powell has come under fire in recent weeks for the Fed’s costly renovation of its Washington, D.C. headquarters.
At the same time, Trump confirmed reports that he discussed firing Powell with a group of House Republicans. The group was polled on its opinion, with the majority responding “yes” to firing him.
Meanwhile, June’s Producer Price Index (PPI), or the average prices producers receive for their goods and services, remained unchanged from May. Economists were expecting a rise of 0.2%. On a yearly basis, PPI rose by 2.3%, also below the estimate for 2.5%.
Following the tame PPI report and Trump denying rumors of removing Powell, the odds of a 25-bps rate cut at the September meeting are now 58.0% compared to 54.5% yesterday and 65.8% a week ago.
The Dow Jones is up by 0.30% at the time of writing.
Which Stocks are Moving the Dow Jones?
Let’s pivot to TipRanks’ Dow Jones Heatmap, which illustrates the stocks that have contributed to the index’s price action.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is leading the charge after reporting earnings and raising its guidance. The remaining three healthcare stocks in the index are rising as well.
Tech stocks are having a muted day, with the exception of Apple (AAPL). Earlier this week, Nvidia (NVDA) clinched a new all-time high, bringing its year-to-date return to about 24%.
Elsewhere, Amazon (AMZN) is dragging the index lower. That comes despite Cantor Fitzgerald hiking its AMZN stock price target to $260 from $240.
DIA Stock Moves Higher with the Dow Jones
The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) is an exchange-traded fund designed to track the movement of the Dow Jones. As a result, DIA is rising alongside the Dow Jones today.
Wall Street believes that DIA stock has room to rise. During the past three months, analysts have issued an average DIA price target of $484.39, implying upside of 9.64% from current prices. The 31 stocks in DIA carry 29 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.