Dow Jones Today: DJIA Rallies as Oil Slips; Hiring Rate Stages Dramatic Recovery

The Dow Jones (DJIA) is trading higher on Tuesday as investors digest the latest U.S.-Iran war developments.

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Brent crude oil (BZ), the international benchmark for oil, is down by over 3% after the Pentagon confirmed that the ceasefire between the two countries is still in place. That comes despite Iran attacking U.S. forces 10 times, firing at commercial vessels nine times, and seizing two container ships, according to Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine. These measures are still “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point,” he said.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely restricted after President Trump kicked off Project Freedom. Only two U.S.-linked ships traveled through the waterway on Monday and none today thus far.

Elsewhere, the hiring rate staged a significant recovery in March, rising to a 22-month high of 3.5%, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The rate was 3.1% in February, the lowest since April 2020.

“The war in Iran is likely to halt progress,” said Navy Federal Credit Union Chief Economist Heather Long. “But any sign of a hiring pickup is welcome news after the ‘hiring recession’ in the past year or so.”

Furthermore, job openings during the month were 6.866 million, slightly above the estimate of 6.85 million but down from 6.922 million in the prior month. February’s openings were revised upwards from 6.882 million. Job openings have remained stable over the past few months, suggesting that uncertainty from the U.S.-Iran war has not disrupted hiring trends or weakened labor demand.

The Dow Jones is up by 0.53% 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.

The industrial sector is leading the index higher, highlighted by a 3% jump from Caterpillar (CAT). This morning, Argus raised its CAT price target to $900 from $820, citing strong expected demand for non-data center construction later this year.

Within tech, IBM (IBM) and Salesforce (CRM) are lagging, while Apple (AAPL) and Cisco (CSCO) are both up by over 1%. The financial sector is split as well, with Visa (V) leading to the upside and Goldman Sachs (GS) up by nearly 2%.

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 $579.09, implying upside of 17.68% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 30 buy ratings, zero hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.