Opening Comment — Wednesday, October 14, 2026
DJIA: 51,670.10, down 180.45
S&P 500: 7,805.45, down 1.79
NASDAQ: 27,204.38, down 41.52
Stocks mixed ahead of CPI data
Stock futures are mixed Wednesday morning as investors await today’s September Consumer Price Index (CPI) release and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) Beige Book survey of regional economic conditions. As of 7:22 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.4%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly lower on Tuesday as existing home sales rose to an annualized 3.99 million pace in September, exceeding expectations, after the prior month’s reading was revised down to 3.93 million. The Dow was down 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. The S&P 500 was little changed with five of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.7%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.3%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased 2.7% for the week ending October 9 versus the prior week’s decrease of 4.2%. The headline CPI for September is expected to show price increases of 0.6% month-over-month (MOM) and 3.6% year-over-year (YOY) versus the prior month’s increases of 0.4% and 3.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, core CPI is expected to show price increases of 0.2% MOM and 2.5% YOY, versus the prior month’s increases of 0.3% and 2.4%, respectively.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s September Wholesale Price Index accelerated to 1.9% MOM and 8.7% YOY. Investors are also monitoring remarks from Bank of England and European Central Bank officials for further insights into the monetary policy outlook.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as China’s CPI accelerated to 0.9% YOY in September, slightly below expectations, while core CPI remained unchanged at 1.0% YOY. Meanwhile, the country’s Producer Price Index for September picked up more than expected to 5.0% YOY. The Chinese trade surplus unexpectedly widened to $133.53 billion in September, as exports rose 36.3% YOY and imports increased 31.0% YOY, with both readings coming in above forecasts. The Westpac Leading Index for Australia declined 0.06% MOM in September, after the prior reading was revised upward to a 0.02% decline.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher ahead of today’s U.S. CPI data release.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.2% higher at $95.28/barrel and Brent crude oil is up 0.7% at $106.45/barrel as investors continue assessing developments in the Middle East conflict.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.5% lower at $4,140.38/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.