Opening Comment — Friday, August 28, 2026
DJIA: 53,569.44, up 105.56
S&P 500: 7,730.99, up 55.29
NASDAQ: 26,541.35, up 411.15
Stocks flat to end out week
Stock futures are mostly unchanged Friday morning ahead of today’s comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Investors are also looking forward to today’s finalized August reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan. As of 7:23 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both little changed. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Thursday as markets digested earnings from a major chip company. The advance goods trade balance for July showed the deficit widening more than projected, while the preliminary reading of wholesale inventories for July increased more than projected. Both Initial jobless claims and continuing claims fell. The Dow was up 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.6%. The S&P 500 increased 0.7% with one of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 3.4%, while the Consumer Staples sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.5%.
Technical Analysis
None at this time.
On the data front, the Market News International Chicago purchasing managers’ index is expected to come in at 57.9 for August versus the prior month’s 57.6. The finalized August reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan is expected to come in at 51.0, unchanged from the preliminary estimate, while one-year inflation expectations are projected to be revised higher to 4.4%. Meanwhile, 5-10 year inflation expectations are expected to remain unchanged at 3.3%. The Kansas City Fed will release their Services Survey for August, with the composite index expected to come in at 10, down from the prior month’s 14.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as France's preliminary August Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated to 0.7% month-over-month (MOM) and 2.4% year-over-year (YOY), matching expectations, while consumer spending increased 0.5% MOM and 1.4% YOY in July. Meanwhile, France's finalized second-quarter Gross Domestic Product data was revised lower showing little change quarter-over-quarter and increasing 0.5% YOY. Germany's unemployment figures increased by 4,000, less than expected in August, while the unemployment claims rate held steady at 6.4%, in line with forecasts. The country’s July import prices showed smaller-than-expected increases, rising 0.2% MOM and 6.8% YOY.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Japan's August Tokyo CPI Index accelerated as expected, with headline and core CPI rising 1.9% and 2.0% YOY. Japan’s jobless rate for July unexpectedly eased to 2.4% defying expectations of holding steady, while the job-to-applicant ratio held steady at 1.18.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed ahead of today’s comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is little changed at $83.55/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is little changed at $4,598.93/ounce.