The Dow Jones (DJIA) is surging on Friday and is less than 2% away from surpassing its all-time high of 50,512.
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Trade QQQ with leverageU.S. equities rallied after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen to commercial traffic for the duration of the 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. President Trump upped the ante, saying that Iran agreed to never close the waterway again. He added that the naval blockade on ships entering and leaving Iranian ports would continue until the two sides reach a deal.
Trump expects a peace deal to be “announced fairly soon,” and hinted that a second round of peace talks could take place over the weekend. At the same time, Iranian officials told the semi-official news agency Fars that Iran could close Hormuz again if the blockade isn’t lifted.
Trump claimed Iran had already agreed to previously rejected concessions, including dismantling its nuclear program and transferring its enriched uranium stockpile. Iran has not yet confirmed his statement.
Brent crude oil futures (BZ) are down by over 10% on the day, although it could take several weeks for the decline to be reflected in gas prices. Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s Head of Petroleum Analysis, sees gas prices dropping to $3.65–$4.00 per gallon in three to four weeks, provided U.S.-Iran tensions remain contained. The average price currently sits at $4.07 compared to $2.98 before the war began on February 28, according to AAA.
The Dow Jones is up by 2.28% 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.
Apple (AAPL) is leading the tech sector higher after BNP Paribas raised its price target to $300 from $260, citing an opportunity for the company to increase smartphone market share from higher memory prices.
Consumer stocks are also rising, with Home Depot (HD) posting strong gains following its acquisition of Simpl Automation. Financial and industrial stocks are catching a bid as well, with Caterpillar (CAT), Boeing (BA), and American Express (AXP) all up by over 3%. Elsewhere, Chevron (CVX) is the index’s worst performer and is falling alongside plunging oil futures.
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 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 $555.61, implying upside of 11.93% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 30 buy ratings, zero hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.