Dow Jones Today: Index Jumps on Debt Talk Hopes

Home Depot and Boeing help lead the Dow more than 400 points higher, while Intel continued its losing streak

By
Terry Lane
Terry Lane
Full Bio
Terry has 25 years experience in journalism and communications, reporting on a range of topics that include personal finance, telecommunications, Congress, government regulations, and criminal justice. He has also worked on technology, energy, and environmental policy issues as a congressional press secretary and owned and published a local community newspaper in North Carolina.
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Published May 17, 2023
In an aerial view, a sign is seen posted on the exterior of a Home Depot store.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average moves up 1.24% on hopes of a debt ceiling deal.
  • Home Depot rebounded after dropping yesterday on a disappointing earnings report.
  • JPMorgan Chase led strong financial sector performance. 
  • Intel sank after a report on poor PC sales.

The hope of progress in U.S. debt ceiling negotiations sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 1.24%, or 408 points, rallying from the previous session’s plunge on retail worries.

Markets were buoyed by optimism after President Joe Biden said he was “confident” that Democrats and Republicans would come to an agreement to raise the government’s borrowing limit before funds are exhausted on June 1. 

Shares of Home Depot (HD) shot up by more than 3.5% to lead the Dow 30, a day after the company beat analysts' profit estimates. The stock slumped yesterday as investors focused on the company's sales miss and retail sales data that came in below expectations.

Boeing (BA) also moved higher by nearly 3%. Investors shrugged off news that Singapore Airlines reduced its order of Boeing’s 737 Max jets from 21 to 13. 

Shares of JP Morgan Chase (JPM) rose more than 3% after CEO Jamie Dimon said he didn’t see the too-big-to-fail bank acquiring more regional banks. Financials was one of the session’s best-performing sectors, with Dow components Goldman Sachs (GS) and American Express (AXP) moving up nearly 3% and 2.5%, respectively.

Intel (INTC) was the Dow’s worst performer. Its shares declined by more than 1% after a Bernstein report said that the PC market may take longer to recover than anticipated. 

The FTC's lawsuit, filed yesterday, to block Amgen's (AMGN) $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics continued to weigh on healthcare, which was one of the day's worst-performing sectors. Amgen was down by 0.5%, while Merck & Co. (MRK) lost more than 1%. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was also down 0.5%, its 11th drop in 12 days.

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