Opening Comment — Tuesday, June 09, 2026
DJIA: 50,786.01, down 80.77
S&P 500: 7,405.73, up 21.99
NASDAQ: 25,929.66, up 220.23
Stocks higher ahead of fresh economic data
Stock futures are higher Tuesday morning ahead of today’s economic releases, including May’s existing home sales, April’s trade balance, and the finalized reading of April wholesale inventories. Meanwhile, small business optimism unexpectedly decreased in May to the lowest level since 2024. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.8% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Monday as the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York’s May 2026 Survey of Consumer Expectations showed a smaller-than-expected increase in one-year-ahead inflation expectations, with the measure coming in at 3.46%, down from 3.64% in the previous month. The Dow was down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%. The S&P 500 increased 0.3% with three of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 1.5%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.9%.
On the data front, the National Federation of Independent Business’s gauge of small business optimism decreased to 95.3 in May from the prior month’s 95.9. The U.S. trade deficit is expected to contract in April to $56.1 billion from the prior month’s $60.3 billion, with exports and imports projected to show increases of 2.4% and 1.6% month-over-month (MOM), respectively, versus the prior month’s increases of 2.0% and 2.3% MOM, respectively. Existing home sales are forecasted to have been at an annualized 4.07 million pace in May versus the prior month’s 4.02 million pace, corresponding to an increase of 1.1% MOM versus the prior month’s increase of 0.2%. The finalized April reading of wholesale inventories is expected to be revised upward to a 0.6% MOM increase, compared to the preliminary reading of 0.5%, while April’s wholesale trade sales is expected to come in at 1.2% MOM versus the prior month’s increase of 2.8%.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s industrial production rose 0.4% MOM in April, in line with projections, while the year-over-year (YOY) decline was a smaller-than-expected 0.5%. The country’s trade surplus unexpectedly narrowed in April, following an upward revision to the previous month’s surplus, as both exports and imports rose despite expectations of declines.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as China’s trade surplus for May increased more than forecasted, as both exports and imports expanded more than projected. South Korea’s first-quarter gross domestic product was revised slightly higher to show growth of 1.8% quarter-over-quarter and 3.8% YOY. Westpac’s Consumer Confidence Index for Australia declined by 2.9% MOM in June. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank’s measure of business confidence improved in May. Japanese machine tool orders increased by 37.4% YOY preliminarily in May.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of tomorrow’s U.S. May Consumer Price Index.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.2% lower at $89.33/barrel amidst tensions easing briefly with Iran and Israel pausing attacks.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% higher at $4,333.58/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.