Dow Jones slips on a tense Tuesday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) tumbled early Tuesday, driven lower by a mix of disappointing US industrial numbers and renewed threats of an escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The US ISM PMI numbers failed to rebound in September as many market participants had hoped. Israel’s recent military strikes on alleged Hamas targets in Lebanon have triggered a threat of retaliation from Iran, significantly widening the scope of the Middle East conflict.

September’s US ISM manufacturing PMI remained stubbornly entrenched at 47.2 for the second straight month, completely missing the expected increase to 47.5. ISM producer prices paid also rebounded more than expected in the same period, falling into contractionary territory at 48.3, down from 54.0 previously.

Looking further into the US data, August JOLTS job postings rose to 8.04 million, up from a revised 7.7 million from the previous period, but the growing expansion of listed job vacancies may not translates directly into new hires according to the ISM Manufacturing Employment Index for September. fell to 43.9 from 46.0 previously, completely missing the forecast increase to 47.0.

Investors’ attention turned to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East after early reports that Iran had fired a first missile barrage against Israel in response to Israel’s recent invasion of Lebanon. The US has said it will retaliate on Israel’s behalf, and investors balk at the prospect of a rapid escalation in the ongoing conflict.

Dow Jones News

About two-thirds of the Dow Jones stock index is in the red on Tuesday, with limited gains for winners. Chevron ( CVX ) has been on the rise recently, gaining ground after it announced last week that the company would not invest capital to make large investments in developing U.S. LNG refineries. Investors rewarded the energy company for keeping its cash reserves close to its chest, and Chevron rose another 1.6 percent on Tuesday to $150 a share.

Going in the opposite direction, Intel ( INTC ) is back in the red, down 4.7% on Tuesday and falling below $22.50 a share as shareholders, who were recently boosted by hopes of a mega merger between Intel and rival chip maker Qualcomm (QCOM) chips. ). However, the reality that regulators are unlikely to allow a single company to dominate the vast majority of global silicon chip printing is weighing heavily on traders.

Dow Jones Price Forecast

The Dow Jones trend sees the major stock index retesting 42,000, with bidders scrambling to regain balance despite hitting new highs late last week. Despite an intraday shock on Tuesday, the DJIA remains well-bought overall, up more than 5% since its last notable swing in mid-September to the 40,000 level.

Dow Jones Daily Chart