Dow Jones futures gain 0.15% to trade near 48,100 during European hours ahead of the opening of the United States (US) regular session on Wednesday. Moreover, the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 gained by 0.33% and 0.55%, with trading near 6,900 and 25,800, respectively.
US index futures advance as market sentiment improves amid the ongoing process of ending the United States (US) government shutdown. The US Senate completed its job and passed the bill that would end the government shutdown.
The US House will vote on the funding bill on Wednesday, sending it to US President Donald Trump for signature. That would reopen the government, sending paychecks and unleashing economic data releases. Trump already backed a bipartisan deal to end the US government shutdown.
Additionally, the risk-on sentiment increased as weaker-than-expected private US labor data, released on Tuesday, increased the likelihood of Federal Reserve (Fed) policy easing. The CME FedWatch Tool shows markets pricing in nearly a 66% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in December, up from 62% a day ago. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported that the US Employment Change showed an average weekly job loss of 11,250 in the four weeks to October 25.
On Tuesday’s regular US session, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones climbing 1.18% to a new record high, while the S&P 500 rose 0.21% and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.25%. Investors rotated out of tech stocks into blue-chip and cyclical names amid optimism that a funding deal will pass the House this week.
Gains in consumer giants such as Walmart rose 1% and McDonald’s gained 2.6%, lifting the Dow Jones, while AI-related stocks declined on valuation concerns, led by Nvidia falling 3%, AMD losing 2.6%, and Palantir dropping 1.3%.
Dow Jones FAQs
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the oldest stock market indices in the world, is compiled of the 30 most traded stocks in the US. The index is price-weighted rather than weighted by capitalization. It is calculated by summing the prices of the constituent stocks and dividing them by a factor, currently 0.152. The index was founded by Charles Dow, who also founded the Wall Street Journal. In later years it has been criticized for not being broadly representative enough because it only tracks 30 conglomerates, unlike broader indices such as the S&P 500.
Many different factors drive the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). The aggregate performance of the component companies revealed in quarterly company earnings reports is the main one. US and global macroeconomic data also contributes as it impacts on investor sentiment. The level of interest rates, set by the Federal Reserve (Fed), also influences the DJIA as it affects the cost of credit, on which many corporations are heavily reliant. Therefore, inflation can be a major driver as well as other metrics which impact the Fed decisions.
Dow Theory is a method for identifying the primary trend of the stock market developed by Charles Dow. A key step is to compare the direction of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA) and only follow trends where both are moving in the same direction. Volume is a confirmatory criteria. The theory uses elements of peak and trough analysis. Dow’s theory posits three trend phases: accumulation, when smart money starts buying or selling; public participation, when the wider public joins in; and distribution, when the smart money exits.
There are a number of ways to trade the DJIA. One is to use ETFs which allow investors to trade the DJIA as a single security, rather than having to buy shares in all 30 constituent companies. A leading example is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA). DJIA futures contracts enable traders to speculate on the future value of the index and Options provide the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the index at a predetermined price in the future. Mutual funds enable investors to buy a share of a diversified portfolio of DJIA stocks thus providing exposure to the overall index.