Opening Comment — Thursday, September 03, 2026
DJIA: 53,061.95, up 295.07
S&P 500: 7,666.60, up 35.13
NASDAQ: 26,217.83, up 118.06
Stocks mixed ahead of PMI data
Stock futures are mixed Thursday morning as investors are looking forward to today’s economic releases, including July’s trade deficit, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) August Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), and labor market data. As of 7:29 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Wednesday as markets evaluated developments in the war between the U.S. and Iran. The Automatic Data Processing National Employment Report for August showed private payrolls increasing by 38,000, below expectations. Meanwhile, July’s factory orders showed a stronger-than-expected increase of 0.9% month-over-month (MOM), while finalized durable goods orders came in unchanged from the preliminary reading of 1.1% MOM. The Dow was up 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%. The S&P 500 increased 0.5% with 10 of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 1.5%, while the Real Estate sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.8%.
On the data front, the Challenger Report on job cuts for August showed a 38.5% year-over-year (YOY) decline, compared with the prior month's 46.1% decrease. The U.S. trade deficit is expected to widen in July to $90.2 billion from the prior month’s $73.3 billion. July’s imports are forecasted to increase 1.8% MOM following the prior month's 1.8% decrease, while exports are expected to decline 1.0% MOM after falling 0.9% in the previous month. Initial jobless claims for the week ending August 29 are expected to rise to 205,000 from the prior week’s 203,000, while continuing claims for the week ending August 22 are projected to come in at 1.784 million, up from the prior week’s 1.778 million. The finalized readings of second-quarter nonfarm productivity growth and unit labor costs are expected to increase 1.4% quarter-over-quarter and at an annualized pace of 1.3%, respectively, both unchanged from the preliminary readings. S&P Global’s finalized services and composite PMIs for August are expected to come in at 56.8 and 56.1, respectively, versus the preliminary readings of 56.8 and 56.0, respectively. The ISM’s August Services PMI is expected to come in at 54.1, unchanged from the previous month’s reading, while the prices paid component is expected to register 70.0, versus the prior month’s 70.3.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s July Producer Price Index increased 1.6% MOM and 5.8% YOY, exceeding expectations. The finalized reading of services PMIs for France, the eurozone, and the U.K. were revised lower to 48.0, 51.6, and 52.5, respectively, while Germany's was revised higher to 49.7. Meanwhile, the finalized composite PMIs for France and the eurozone were revised lower to 48.5 and 52.0, respectively, while Germany's was revised higher to 51.8 and the U.K.'s remained unchanged at 52.5.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s private services and composite PMIs for August from RatingDog rose to 51.4 and 52.1, respectively. Australia’s trade surplus narrowed less than expected in July, as exports and imports declined 3.3% and 2.5% MOM, respectively. The finalized August services and composite PMIs for Australia were revised higher to 53.2 and 52.7, respectively, while the readings for Japan were revised higher to 52.5 and 53.5, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of today’s U.S. PMI and labor market data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.1% higher at $92.91/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.1% higher at $4,427.57/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.