The Dow Jones (DJIA) is trading lower on Friday as the impacts of the U.S.-Iran war continue to materialize in economic data.
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Trade QQQ with leverageThe Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.9% month-over-month in March, registering the largest monthly gain since June 2022 and in line with the consensus analyst estimate. Within CPI, gas prices surged 21.2%, posting the largest one-month jump since data collection began in 1967. The jump in gas prices accounted for nearly three-quarters of the monthly rise in CPI. Energy represents roughly 7% of the CPI basket, although its broader effect on other goods and services raises its overall economic impact to nearly 15%. On an annual basis, CPI rose 3.3%.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased by 0.2% month-over-month and 2.6% year-over-year. Analysts were expecting 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively.
Rising oil and gas prices from the U.S.-Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have also depressed consumer sentiment. The preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to an all-time low of 47.6 in April, down from 53.3 in March and missing the estimate of 51.5. Still, it’s worth highlighting that 98% of the responses were collected before the U.S. announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on April 7.
“Economic expectations will likely improve after consumers gain confidence that the supply disruptions stemming from the Iran conflict have ended and gas prices have moderated,” said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.
The U.S. and Iran are set to meet for peace talks in Islamabad on Saturday. However, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Iran would not begin negotiations until a Lebanon ceasefire is in place and frozen Iranian assets are released.
The Dow Jones is down by 0.61% 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.
Within the tech sector, software continues to face pressure following the release of Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview. Microsoft (MSFT), IBM (IBM), and Salesforce (CRM) are all trading lower on the day.
Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) continues to rise after CEO Andy Jassy announced that Amazon Web Services (AWS) had achieved annualized revenue of over $15 billion and expects $200 billion of capital expenditures this year.
Elsewhere, all three consumer defensive stocks are trading lower, while Nvidia (NVDA) is the top performer within the Dow Jones.
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 $559.89, implying upside of 16.78% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 30 buy ratings, zero hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.