The Dow Jones (DJIA) is set to end the trading week with a loss, shrugging off a rise in consumer sentiment.
Claim 50% Off TipRanks Premium
- Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
- Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis and maximize your portfolio's potential
January’s Consumer Sentiment Index showed a reading of 56.4, higher than the consensus estimate of 54.0 and rising from 52.9 in December. A reading above 60 signals confidence, while a reading below 60 signals pessimism. Sentiment improved broadly across several demographic groups, including income, education, political affiliation, and age. However, the index is still down by 21% from 71.7 a year ago.
Furthermore, consumers expect year-ahead inflation of 4.0%, the lowest since January 2025 and down from 4.2% in the prior month. Their long-run inflation expectations inched higher to 3.3% from 3.2%. “In comparison, readings ranged between 2.8% and 3.2% in 2024, and were below 2.8% throughout 2019 and 2020,” said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu in a reference to long-run expectations.
Meanwhile, precious metals may be attracting capital away from equities. Both gold (XAUUSD) and silver (XAGUSD) secured new record highs on Friday, with the former racing towards $5,000 per troy ounce and the latter pushing past $100 for the first time.
Renewed geopolitical uncertainty stemming from President Trump’s European tariff threats has contributed to the upside in precious metals. While Trump stepped back from the tariffs, investors have continued to bid up gold and silver after he announced the U.S. would soon impose 25% secondary tariffs on countries that transact business with Iran.
The Dow Jones is down by 0.49% 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.
Tech stocks are staging a recovery on Friday, led by Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA). Chinese officials have informed the country’s tech giants that they can begin the process of ordering Nvidia’s H200 chips, signaling that China is close to approving shipments of the chips.
Financial stocks, on the other hand, are mostly in the red, led by losses from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS). Industrial equipment leader Caterpillar (CAT) is also trading lower, despite Barclays raising its price target to $610 from $555.
Elsewhere, Amazon (AMZN) is the top-performing consumer cyclical stock of the day, while 3M (MMM) continues to recover from an earnings drop.
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 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 $551.87, implying upside of 12.29% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 29 buy ratings, one hold rating, and zero sell ratings.