The Dow Jones (DJIA) is trading lower on Thursday as investors await Iran’s response to a revised U.S. memorandum of understanding.
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Trade QQQ with leverageIran has formed a new government agency to oversee and tax vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz as it reviews the U.S. proposal, according to The Washington Post. A response from Tehran is expected very soon, although senior Iranian official Mohsen Rezaee warned that any plan to reopen Hormuz without war damage reparations would be rejected.
Brent crude (BZ), the international benchmark for oil, fell as low as $96 per barrel in morning trading, although it has since rebounded to $99. Crude is still up by 33% since the war began on February 28, while gas prices in the U.S. currently sit at an average of $4.56.
Elsewhere, initial jobless claims for the week ended May 2 rose by 10,000 to 200,000, below the consensus estimate of 205,000. Last week’s figure was revised higher by 1,000 from the initial estimate of 189,000, which marked the lowest level in 57 years. Continuing jobless claims, which trail initial claims by a week, dropped by 10,000 to 1.766 million, below the estimate of 1.8 million and the lowest since April 2024.
More labor market data is on the way. On Friday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will publish April’s jobs report, providing updates on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate.
The Dow Jones is down by 0.4% 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 continue to power higher. Within the sector, software stocks Salesforce (CRM) and IBM (IBM) are providing a boost. A blowout earnings report from Datadog (DDOG) has breathed life back into the sector, alleviating fears of disruption from AI.
Elsewhere, consumer stocks are muted on the day, while three of the four healthcare stocks are in the red. Disney (DIS) continues to climb after reporting its earnings, bringing its one-month return to 15%. Chevron (CVX), the lone energy stock in the Dow Jones, is trading lower alongside falling oil prices.
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 $562.91, implying upside of 13.25% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 30 buy ratings, zero hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.