The Dow Jones (DJIA) is trading slightly lower ahead of the weekend with low volume after the Christmas holiday.
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There are only four trading days left in 2025 with just a few economic data releases remaining. On Monday, investors will receive the final goods trade balance update of the year, followed by initial and continuing jobless claims on Wednesday. During November, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, its highest level in four years. As of November, U.S. employers had announced plans to lay off 1.17 million workers year-to-date, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s 54% higher than the the same period in 2024 and marks the highest amount since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Furthermore, the market will have to wait until the new year for inflation data, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) slated to release the next Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on January 13, 2026.
Meanwhile, China announced new sanctions on 20 U.S. defense firms and 10 defense executives for selling arms to Taiwan, including Boeing’s (BA) St. Louis defense branch, Northrop Grumman (NOC), Red Cat Holdings (RCAT), and Anduril’s Palmer Luckey. The affected companies will have their Chinese assets, if any, frozen and be barred from conducting business with Chinese entities. The executives will be banned from entering China.
“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations,” said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday.
Finally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that he plans to meet with President Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss a 20-point peace plan to end the Ukraine-Russia war. Zelenskyy added that the plan “is about 90% ready,” although terms surrounding Ukrainian territory and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are still in negotiations.
The Dow Jones is down by 0.11% 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.
Nvidia (NVDA) is leading the tech sector higher after announcing a $20 billion non-exclusive licensing deal with AI chipmaker Groq. Wall Street applauded the move, with Cantor Fitzgerald saying it offers “both offense and defense” and Baird adding that it “is in line with Nvidia’s push into AI inferencing.”
Meanwhile, other tech stocks, like Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL), are muted on the day. Nike (NKE) is trading slightly higher after Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed a nearly $3 million insider buy of NKE stock earlier this week. Cook serves as a Director on Nike’s board.
DIA Stock Moves Lower with the Dow Jones
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 $534.48, implying upside of 9.92% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 29 buy ratings, one hold rating, and zero sell ratings.
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