Dow Jones Loses Steam as Oil Tops $100 amid Stagflation Fears

2026-03-09 16:54:37

The Dow Jones (DJIA) is trading lower on Monday, although the index has staged a partial recovery from its intraday low.

Claim 70% Off TipRanks Premium

Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis and maximize your portfolio’s potential

Oil prices climbed above $110 overnight for the first time since July 2022, raising inflation concerns. Higher prices can impact not only travel and transportation but also manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and food sectors. The near closure of the Strait of Hormuz and several Middle Eastern countries limiting output due to dwindling storage facilities are the main factors behind the rise.

Surging oil prices have led to fears of stagflation, which is a rare scenario characterized by high inflation and unemployment paired with stagnant economic growth. It can lead to reduced purchasing power, supply shocks, and lower corporate profits.

Prices eased back below $100 following reports that several G7 countries were considering a release of between 300 and 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves. Following a meeting between finance ministers, the group decided not to follow through with the measure. “There was broad consensus on this,” a G7 official told Reuters. “It was not that someone was against, it’s just about timing. More analysis is needed.”

An Iranian military spokesperson warned that oil could nearly double to $200 if the U.S. and Israel continue to attack oil infrastructure in Iran. “If you can tolerate oil prices above $200 per barrel, continue this game,” he said.

Over the weekend, Israeli forces struck several fuel storage and oil facilities in and around Tehran. However, the U.S. said it was not involved in the attacks and would not target oil infrastructure.

The Dow Jones is down by 0.71% 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.

All five financial stocks in the index are trading lower amid economic growth concerns. With rising inflation, consumers face higher borrowing costs and reduced spending power, putting pressure on banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions.

Tech stocks are also taking a hit, led to the downside by Cisco CSCO -2.84% ▼ . Still, Nvidia NVDA +1.37% ▲ is up by over 1% after Citi said that the semiconductor leader remains a “core” holding. Furthermore, Citi expects Apple’s AAPL +0.07% ▲ gross margins to fall by 1.4% this year due to rising memory component prices.

Elsewhere, consumer cyclical stocks like Amazon AMZN -1.43% ▼ and Home Depot HD -2.75% ▼ are in the red on fears of higher inflation and lower consumer spending from the U.S.-Iran war.

Is the Dow Jones a Good Long-Term Investment?

The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA -0.48% ▼ is an exchange-traded fund designed to track the movement of the Dow Jones. As a result, DIA is falling 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 $561.48, implying upside of 18.89% from current prices. The 30 holdings in DIA carry 30 buy ratings, zero hold ratings, and zero sell ratings.

Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.