Opening Comment — Wednesday, February 04, 2026
DJIA: 49,240.99, down 166.67
S&P 500: 6,917.81, down 58.63
NASDAQ: 23,255.19, down 336.92
Stocks higher ahead of PMI data
Stock futures are mostly higher Wednesday morning ahead of today’s services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), along with employment data from ADP. As of 7:34 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is little changed relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as the partial government shutdown ended, with most of the government funded through the end of September, though funding for the Department of Homeland Security will lapse next Friday (February 13). The Dow was down 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.8% with six of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 3.3%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.2%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 8.9% for the week ending January 30 versus the prior week’s decrease of 8.5%. The ADP employment change report for January is expected to show private nonfarm job gains of 45,000, versus the prior month’s 41,000. The finalized S&P Global services PMI for January is expected to remain unchanged from the prior reading of 52.5, while the composite PMI is expected to come in at 52.9 versus the prior reading of 52.8. The ISM’s January services PMI and the prices paid component are expected to register 53.5 and 65.0, respectively, versus the prior month’s revised 53.8 and 65.1, respectively. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 639,000 barrels for the week ending January 30 versus the prior week’s decrease of 2.3 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s preliminary Consumer Price Index for January decelerated to 1.7% year-over-year (YOY) on a headline basis and 2.2% YOY on a core basis. Meanwhile, the bloc’s Producer Price Index for December showed deflation of 0.3% month-over-month and 2.1% YOY. The finalized January services PMI for France was revised higher to 48.4, while the readings for the U.K., the eurozone, and Germany were revised lower to 54.0, 51.6, and 52.4, respectively.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher following China’s private January services and composite PMIs rising to 51.6 and 52.3, respectively. Japan’s and Australia’s finalized January services PMIs from S&P Global were revised higher to 53.7 and 56.3, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher ahead of today’s U.S. PMI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.3% higher at $63.38/barrel ahead of an expected decline in reported crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 2.1% higher at $5,049.46/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.