The Dow Jones (DJIA) has remained in negative territory for all of Friday’s trading session, trading lower following a consumer sentiment update.
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September’s preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment fell from 58.2 in August to 54.2 and missed the consensus estimate of 58.2. A reading above 80 indicates consumer optimism, while a reading below 60 indicates pessimism.
“Consumers continue to note multiple vulnerabilities in the economy, with rising risks to business conditions, labor markets, and inflation,” said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu. “Likewise, consumers perceive risks to their pocketbooks as well; current and expected personal finances both eased about 8% this month.”
Additionally, year-ahead inflation expectations remained at 4.8% compared to August, although the expectation remains way above August’s annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) and core CPI inflation readings, which tallied at 2.9% and 3.1%. Furthermore, long-term inflation expectations rose for a second consecutive month to 3.9%. That compares with 3.5% in August and 3.4% in July.
On the trade front, top representatives from the U.S. and China will meet in Madrid between September 14-17 for the fourth round of in-person trade talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will lead the U.S. efforts and negotiate with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
The Dow Jones is down by 0.43% 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.
OpenAI announced that it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Microsoft (MSFT) that would allow it to change its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC). This could pave the way for OpenAI to receive additional funding and become a public company. This benefits Microsoft because it owns a large minority interest in OpenAI’s for-profit arm.
Magnificent 7 peer Apple (AAPL) is trading higher, shrugging off news that it would delay the debut of its iPhone Air in China due to eSIM regulatory issues.
Elsewhere, all four consumer cyclical stocks are in the red, while UnitedHealth Group (UNH) continues its positive streak, returning 35% over the past month.
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 $495.46, implying upside of 7.66% from current prices. The 31 stocks in DIA carry 29 buy ratings, two hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.
