The Dow Jones (DJIA) is trading lower on Thursday, although the index has recovered a majority of its morning losses.
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Trade QQQ with leveragePresident Trump’s Wednesday evening address on the U.S.-Iran war failed to reassure investors that the conflict would wind down soon. During the 20-minute speech, he vowed to strike Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks” and send them “back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.” Furthermore, he placed the responsibility of opening up the Strait of Hormuz on allies and said that gas prices will drop and stock prices will rise once the passageway resumes normal operations.
The Dow Jones rallied from its morning lows after Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran and Oman are working on a post-war agreement to ensure safe passage for ships traveling through Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA.
“Of course, these requirements will not mean restrictions, but rather to facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships that pass through this route,” said Gharibabadi.
Elsewhere, layoff plans surged 25% month-over-month to 60,620 in March, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s still significantly lower than the 275,240 job cuts in March 2025, although that figure was inflated by federal layoffs from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Challenger expects more layoffs across the tech sector as companies redirect budgets toward AI investments, cutting jobs in the process.
The Dow Jones is down by 0.39% 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.
Stock sectors are split across the board on Thursday, with tech stocks displaying relative strength. Rising oil prices continue to hammer the consumer cyclical and industrial sectors amid elevated inflation fears. Home Depot (HD) and Caterpillar (CAT) are leading the two sectors lower.
Elsewhere, financial stocks are mostly muted, although Visa (V) is up by about 1%. The healthcare sector is showing mixed price action, with UnitedHealth Group (UNH) leading and Amgen (AMGN) lagging.
Is the Dow Jones 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 falling 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 $557.71, implying upside of 20.16% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 30 buy ratings, zero hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.