Opening Comment — Tuesday, October 20, 2026
DJIA: 51,966.03, down 36.38
S&P 500: 7,690.73, up 31.29
NASDAQ: 26,430.89, up 290.86
Stocks mixed before housing data
Stock futures are mixed Tuesday morning ahead of today’s housing market updates, including September’s housing starts, pending home sales, and preliminary building permits data. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.5% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Monday as technology stocks rebounded from prior losses and market expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes rose. Meanwhile, homebuilder sentiment declined more than anticipated in October. The Dow was down 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1%. The S&P 500 increased 0.4% with four of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary sector was the top performer, rising 2.7%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.0%.
On the data front, the Philadelphia Fed’s Non-Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey for October will be released today. Housing starts are expected to have been an annualized 1.305 million in September versus the prior month’s 1.275 million. The preliminary reading of September building permits is expected to come in at an annualized 1.385 million versus the prior month’s 1.403 million. Pending home sales for September are expected to have decreased 0.5% month-over-month (MOM) and 3.9% year-over-year (YOY), versus the prior month’s increase of 0.3% and decrease of 4.9%, respectively.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as Germany’s September Producer Price Index (PPI) showed stronger-than-expected inflationary pressures, with prices increasing by 1.9% MOM and 6.7% YOY. For the three-month period through August, the U.K.’s average unemployment rate fell to 4.7%, average weekly earnings growth eased to 3.7% YOY, and employment increased by 102,000. Meanwhile, the country’s jobless claims rose, and the claimant count rate held steady at 4.4% in September. ZEW measures of economic growth expectations fell for the eurozone and declined more than expected for Germany in October.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as China kept its one- and five-year Loan Prime Rates unchanged at 3.00% and 3.50%, respectively, in October, both in line with expectations. Tokyo condominium sales declined 40.1% YOY in September compared to the prior month’s 12.4% decline.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly lower ahead of today’s U.S. housing data releases.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 6.1% higher at $110.00/barrel and Brent crude oil is up 1.7% at $111.44/barrel amidst growing geopolitical tensions.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.5% lower at $4,120.74/ounce despite a weakening U.S. dollar.