Opening Comment — Wednesday, October 28, 2026
DJIA: 52,361.58, up 146.42
S&P 500: 7,676.77, up 53.09
NASDAQ: 26,169.38, up 214.04
Stocks mixed before FOMC meeting
Stock futures are mixed Wednesday morning ahead of today’s mega-cap earnings releases and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The benchmark interest rate is widely expected to remain unchanged at 3.75% to 4.00%, but investors are awaiting further signals on the policy outlook. Market participants are also looking ahead to today’s economic releases, including September’s advance goods trade balance, wholesale inventories, and retail inventories. As of 7:25 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.4% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly higher on Tuesday as the preliminary reading of durable goods orders rose less than expected in September, rising 1.8% month-over-month (MOM). Meanwhile, measures of U.S. home prices increased broadly above expectations in August. Consumer confidence unexpectedly climbed to 91.7 in October from the prior month’s upwardly revised 84.2. New home sales fell by a less-than-expected 0.6% MOM in September to an annualized 676,000. The Dow was little changed, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2%. The S&P 500 increased 0.6% with six of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 1.5%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.2%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 3.4% for the week ending October 23 versus the prior week’s decrease of 5.3%. The advance goods trade balance for September is expected to show a deficit of $130.2 billion versus the prior month’s revised deficit of $132.1 billion, as imports and exports growth is projected to ease to 2.6% and 1.3% MOM, compared to the prior month’s revised increases of 5.4% and 2.1%, respectively. The preliminary September reading of wholesale inventories is expected to show an increase of 0.5% MOM, similar to the prior month’s increase, while retail inventories are forecasted to have increased by 0.3% MOM in September, versus the prior month’s downwardly revised increase of 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to remain broadly unchanged for the week ended October 23 versus the prior week’s decrease of 3.06 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as Germany’s consumer confidence unexpectedly declined. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting the release of the annual U.K. budget.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Australia’s Consumer Price Index accelerated more than expected in September, rising 0.8% MOM and 4.3% year-over-year (YOY), while inflation increased a stronger-than-expected 1.3% during the third quarter. South Korea’s retail sales growth slowed to 4.5% YOY in September, while both department store sales and discount store sales growth moderated to 8.4% and 4.0% YOY, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher as investors await updates from today’s Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.5% higher at $101.35/barrel and Brent crude oil is up 0.8% at $114.83/barrel amidst concerns on Saudi Arabian refining.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.4% lower at $4,044.71/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.