The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) got a boost today alongside the latest inflation data in the December Producer Price Index (PPI) report. Traders are celebrating after the PPI report revealed a 3.3% year-over-year increase in December, less than experts’ estimate of 3.4%. When excluding volatile food and energy sectors from the PPI data, inflation was up 3.5% compared to a 3.8% estimate.
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Investors are excited that inflation didn’t come in as hot as experts predicted. However, there’s no room for a victory lap today. Even with this report, it’s unlikely the Federal Reserve will alter its plan to avoid interest rate cuts in 2025. However, traders can’t help but celebrate the data and await the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report coming out tomorrow.
All of this news has the DJIA up 0.29% as of this writing. This is a much-needed boost for the index as it’s down 0.58% year-to-date.
Which Stocks Are Boosting the DJIA Index Today?
Turning to the TiPranks DJIA heatmap tool, traders can see the exact stocks helping the index today. Financial stocks are performing well, which makes sense as they benefit from high interest rates. Other sectors are largely grey, with red across the healthcare sector keeping the Dow Jones from further increases on Tuesday.
How to Invest in the Dow Jones
Investors can’t take a direct stake in the Dow Jones as it’s only an index. Instead, they might consider buying shares of a stock listed on it. The strong performance of the financial sector might interest investors, especially as many companies prepare to announce earnings this week.
Traders might also consider investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the DJIA. That includes those betting on and against the index. One popular option is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) but there are plenty to choose from below.
