After opening in the red, the Dow Jones (DJIA) staged a recovery and is now trading on higher ground, driven by tech stocks and a positive labor market update.
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Initial jobless claims, which serve as a gauge of layoffs, fell by 9,000 to 198,000 for the week ended January 9 and were below the consensus estimate of 215,000. Furthermore, continuing jobless claims, which track the number of people receiving unemployment benefits, decreased by 19,000 to 1.884 million and undercut the estimate of 1.897 million. Continuing claims trail initial claims by one week.
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said he wasn’t surprised by the claims data, adding that the Fed’s main priority at the moment is bringing inflation down to 2%. He also warned that a loss of Fed independence amplifies the risk of inflation amid a Justice Department probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. “You’re going to get inflation come roaring back if you try to take away the independence of the central bank,” Goolsbee told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Elsewhere, geopolitical tensions took a step down after Iran’s foreign minister said the country had “no plan” to execute protesters. President Trump acknowledged the news but didn’t rule out military action against Iran.
At the same time, tensions on the home front intensified after Trump said he was considering invoking the Insurrection Act to address protests in Minnesota. The federal law allows the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically to help suppress unrest, insurrection, or rebellion. Protests in Minneapolis have ramped up in recent days as residents push back against the influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The Dow Jones is up by 0.82% 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.
Nvidia (NVDA) is leading the tech sector higher on the heels of a positive earnings report from chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). Magnificent 7 peer Amazon (AMZN) is also in the green, although the e-commerce company disclosed that its $475 million investment in Saks Global’s acquisition of Neiman Marcus is essentially “worthless.” Saks filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week.
Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs (GS) is up by over 4% after the investment bank reported that its fourth quarter net income grew by 12% to $4.6 billion, equating to an earnings per share (EPS) of $14.01. In addition, all four industrial stocks are in the green.
Is DIA Stock a Good Long-Term Investment?
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 $544.79, implying upside of 10.03% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 29 buy ratings, one hold rating, and zero sell ratings.
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