Dow Jones Today: DJIA Extends Losses as Oil Rips Higher; Trump Eyes New Tariffs

The Dow Jones (DJIA) continues to face pressure on Thursday amid rising oil prices and a warning from Iran’s new supreme leader.

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Crude oil futures (CL) are up by 9% as ships continue to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, a global chokepoint for energy. In his first message to the public as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei emphasized that the shipping lane must remain closed as a “tool to pressure the enemy.” He also said that “Iran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs” and vowed to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East.

Adding further pressure to the stock market are new U.S. trade investigations into 16 countries, including China, the European Union, Mexico, and India, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The probes will examine “structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors” and could lead to additional tariffs or fees. Furthermore, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that the U.S. will conduct additional Section 301 investigations targeting 60 countries as early as Thursday.

Boosting domestic production has been a driving reason behind the Trump administration’s tariffs. In January, U.S. exports climbed by 5.5% to a record high of $302.1 billion, while imports fell by 0.7% to $356.6 billion. The trade deficit dropped by 25.3% month-over-month to $54.5 billion compared to the consensus analyst estimate of $66 billion.

Elsewhere, layoffs remained steady, with initial jobless claims unchanged at 213,000 for the week ended March 7. Continuing jobless claims, which trail initial claims by a week, decreased by 21,000 to 1.85 million and were slightly above the expectation of 1.849 million.

The Dow Jones is down by 1.22% 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.

The majority of tech stocks are trading lower, although Salesforce CRM +3.16% ▲ is in the green after pricing $25 billion in bonds, its largest-ever sale, to fund its share repurchase program. The offering is expected to close on March 13.

Elsewhere, the financial sector remains weak with Goldman Sachs GS -3.70% ▼ leading its peers to the downside. Industrial stocks are also facing pressure amid rising oil and gas prices. Higher prices at the pump could squeeze discretionary spending, creating the risk of lower sales for Amazon AMZN -1.03% ▼ , Nike NKE -2.28% ▼ , and McDonald’s MCD +0.09% ▲ . However, that same reason benefits Chevron CVX +3.40% ▲ .

Is the Dow Jones a Good Long-Term Investment?

The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA -1.02% ▼ 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 $566.09, implying upside of 20.62% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 30 buy ratings, zero hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.

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