Dow Jones Industrial Average churns on middling Wednesday markets

Dow Jones hung up on the 39,000.00 handle amid quiet midweek markets.
Fedspeak continues to press down on rate cut hopes.
Investors buckle down for the wait to key data on Thursday and Friday.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is churning just above 39,000.00 in tepid Wednesday trading as markets hunker down for the wait to key data in the back half of the trading week. Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have repeatedly noted the need for patience on policy rates. The US central bank continues to look for firmer signs that inflation will continue easing to the Fed’s 2% annual target. A notable lack of economic slowdown and a still-tight labor market leaves the Fed with little need to rush into rate cuts. Several Fed officials have cautioned that there might be no rate cuts in 2024, while the Fed’s median dot plot of rate expectations suggests only a single quarter-point cut for the year.

A notable lack of data on Wednesday leaves investors to fidget in place and wait for a raft of key US datapoints slated for release on Thursday and Friday. US Durable Goods Orders, a revision to first-quarter US Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and Initial Jobless Claims are all due Thursday. Friday will round out the trading week with a fresh print of US Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) inflation figures for May.

Investors with hopes pinned on at least a quarter-point rate cut from the Fed in September will look for soft-but-not-too-soft US economic figures. Too good a print means the Fed will be even less likely to deliver an early rate trim, while too bad of a data calendar will mean the US is headed for a recession, leaving rate-cut-hungry markets to dream of a happy middle ground.

Dow Jones news

The Dow Jones is up a scant 30 points rounding the corner into the final stretch of Wednesday’s US market session. The major equity index is getting propped up by firm gains in market favorites, but most of the Dow Jones’ constituent securities are in the red on Wednesday, with two-thirds of the listed stocks softly in the red.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) surged nearly 4.5% on Wednesday, approaching $195.00 per share, with Apple Inc. (AAPL) struggling to keep pace, rising 2.3% to $214.00 per share. On the downside, Amgen Inc. (AMGN) and Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV) are each down around 1.7% apiece, with Amgen falling below $315.00 per share and Travelers Companies falling to $205.00 per share.

Dow Jones technical outlook

Dow Jones remains within touch range of the previous day’s closing bids near 39,100.00 on Wednesday. The DJIA remains down from last week’s peak near 39,600.00, but a near-term floor is priced in at Wednesday’s early lows just above 38,900.00.

Daily candlesticks continue to hold just above the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 38,878.00 as bidders try to drag the large-cap index back towards all-time highs set in May just north of the 40,000.00 major handle.

Dow Jones five minute chart

Dow Jones daily chart

Economic Indicator

Personal Consumption Expenditures - Price Index (MoM)

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on a monthly basis, measures the changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers in the United States (US).. The MoM figure compares prices in the reference month to the previous month. Price changes may cause consumers to switch from buying one good to another and the PCE Deflator can account for such substitutions. This makes it the preferred measure of inflation for the Federal Reserve. Generally speaking, a high reading is bullish for the US Dollar (USD), while a low reading is bearish.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD flatlines below 1.1800 amid trading lull, awaits Fed Minutes

EUR/USD trades around a flatline below 1.1800 in European trading on Tuesday. The pair lacks any trading impetus as the US Dollar moves little amid market caution ahead of the Fed's December Meeting Minutes release, which could offer insights into the Federal Reserve’s 2026 outlook.

GBP/USD retakes 1.3500 despite the year-end grind

GBP/USD finds fresh demand and retakes 1.3500 on Tuesday as markets grind through the last trading week of the year. Despite the latest uptick, the pair is unlikely to see further progress due to the year-end holiday volumes.

Gold holds the bounce on Fed rate cut bets, safe-haven flows

Gold holds the rebound near $4,350 in the European trading hours on Tuesday. The precious metal recovers some lost ground after falling 4.5% in the previous session, which was Gold's largest single-day loss since October. Increased margin requirements on gold and silver futures by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, one of the world’s largest trading floors for commodities, prompted widespread profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing.

Tron steadies as Justin Sun invests $18 million in Tron Inc.

Tron (TRX) trades above $0.2800 at press time on Monday, hovering below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $0.2859.

Economic outlook 2026-2027 in advanced countries: Solidity test

After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is. Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).