Opening Comment — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
DJIA: 49,442.56, down 4.87
S&P 500: 7,109.14, down 16.92
NASDAQ: 24,404.39, down 64.09
Stocks higher ahead of retail sales data
Stock futures are higher Tuesday morning as markets await the upcoming next round of U.S.-Iran peace talks, with the two week ceasefire deadline expiring tomorrow. Investors are looking forward to today’s economic releases, including March’s retail sales and pending home sales, and will also be watching Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair confirmation hearing. As of 7:21 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.6%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is also increasing 0.4% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly lower on Monday following news over the weekend that Iran would keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as the U.S. blockade continued. The Dow was little changed, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.2% with five of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 0.6%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.4%.
On the data front, retail sales and retail sales excluding autos are both expected to have risen 1.4% month-over-month (MOM) in March versus the prior month’s increases of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Business inventories are expected to have increased by 0.3% MOM in February versus the prior month’s decrease of 0.1%. Meanwhile, pending home sales for March are expected to have increased 0.5% MOM versus the prior month’s increase of 1.8%.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s three-month unemployment rate declined to 4.9% in February and average weekly earnings gains eased less than expected. The country’s jobless claims and the claimant count rate increased in March from February’s downwardly revised readings. Meanwhile, the ZEW measures of economic growth expectations declined significantly for the eurozone and Germany in April.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher ahead of U.S.-Iran peace talks.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher as investors await today’s U.S. retail sales data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.4% lower at $88.36/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.6% lower at $4,789.70/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.