Opening Comment — Friday, September 25, 2026
DJIA: 51,349.98, down 161.61
S&P 500: 7,704.13, down 1.90
NASDAQ: 26,939.37, up 3.33
Stocks higher to end out week
Stock futures are higher Friday morning ahead of today’s preliminary reading of August’s durable goods orders and the finalized reading of September’s consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan. Investors are also assessing news of discussions between the U.S. and Iran on potentially reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Next week, the highlight will be on key economic releases including the September jobs report and August’s personal income, personal spending, and Personal Consumption Expenditures Deflator (the Federal Reserve’s [Fed’s] preferred gauge of inflation) data. As of 7:27 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.7% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly unchanged on Thursday following further hawkish commentary from Fed officials. August new home sales rose more than expected, while both initial jobless claims and continuing claims from the previous week came in lower than expected. The Dow was down 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was little changed. The S&P 500 was little changed with four of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 1.9%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.0%.
Technical Analysis:
As of midday Thursday, the S&P 500 remains in an uptrend. Resistance is at the recent high of 7,799, while support is provided by the 50-day moving average at 7,632 and the 200-day moving average at 7,201.
On the data front, the preliminary reading of August’s durable goods orders is forecasted to show a decrease of 0.3% month-over-month, compared to the prior month’s increase of 1.1%. The finalized September Survey of Consumers from the University of Michigan is expected to show the consumer sentiment index at 47.5 versus the preliminary reading of 47.8. The survey’s reading of one-year inflation expectations are expected to edge up to 4.7% from the preliminary reading of 4.6%, while 5-10-year inflation expectations are expected to hold steady at 3.4%. The Kansas City Fed will release their Services Survey for September, with the composite index expected to come in at -1 compared to the prior month’s -3.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s consumer confidence unexpectedly improved to -13 in September from -14 previously. In contrast, Germany's consumer confidence declined more than expected to -30.6 from a downwardly revised -26.8 in the previous month.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as both Chinese and South Korean markets were closed for holidays. Japan’s department store sales growth slowed in August, with nationwide department store sales rising 2.6% year-over-year, down from 5.1% in July. Similarly, Tokyo department store sales increased 5.7% from a year earlier, easing from the previous month's 9.0% gain.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower, paring back some of this week’s gains.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.7% lower at $92.99/barrel and Brent crude oil is down 1.0% at $105.59/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.8% higher at $4,309.54/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.