The Dow Jones (DJIA) jumped as much as 0.64% in early morning trading, although the index has since erased a majority of those gains.
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September’s U.S. S&P Global Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which measures business activity in both the manufacturing and services sectors, came in at 53.6, a three-month low and below the expectation of 54.0. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
On the bright side, business sentiment rose on expectations for lower rates. “While growth expectations across both manufacturing and services also continue to be dogged by concerns over the political environment, and especially tariffs, September encouragingly saw business sentiment improve in part due to the anticipated beneficial impact of lower interest rates,” said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. In addition, the Composite PMI is still expansionary, extending its streak to 32 consecutive months.
In another blow to the market, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned of higher inflation and slowing growth from tariffs. It expects U.S. inflation growth to average 2.7% in 2025 and 3.0% in 2026, with the tariff rate at the end of August estimated at 19.5%, the highest since 1933. In addition, the OECD forecasts 1.8% U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026. GDP grew by 2.4% in 2024.
“The impacts of higher tariff rates are yet to be fully felt in the U.S. economy,” said the OECD.
The Dow Jones is up by 0.05% 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 all tech stocks to the downside, with the semiconductor giving back some gains after announcing an up to $100 billion investment in OpenAI on Monday. On the other hand is UnitedHealth Group (UNH), which is trading higher on the day and now up by 15.5% during the past month. However, the embattled healthcare company still has ground to cover with a year-to-date loss of 30%.
Elsewhere, Amazon (AMZN) is in the red as its Federal Trade Commission (FTC) trial over allegedly misleading customers into signing up for its Prime offering heads into day two, while Chevron (CVX) is in the green on rising oil futures. In addition, Boeing (BA) is catching a bid amid reports that China is in the final stages of negotiating a large order.
DIA Stock Moves Higher 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 rising 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 $501.60, implying upside of 8.10% from current prices. The 31 holdings in DIA carry 29 buy ratings, two hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.
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