Opening Comment — Tuesday, December 09, 2025
DJIA: 47,739.32, down 215.67
S&P 500: 6,846.51, down 23.89
NASDAQ: 23,545.90, down 32.23
Stocks higher ahead of JOLTS
Stock futures are mostly higher Tuesday morning ahead of today’s economic releases, including the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for both September and October. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is little changed relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Monday as the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York’s November 2025 Survey of Consumer Expectations showed a slight decrease in one-year-ahead inflation expectations, with the measure falling to 3.20%. The Dow was down 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.4% with 10 of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 0.9%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.8%.
On the data front, the National Federation of Independent Business’s gauge of small business optimism came in at 99.0 in November, slightly above the prior month’s reading. The Leading Index for September is forecasted to show a decline of 0.3%. Meanwhile, the October JOLTS is forecasted to show job openings of 7.1 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as Germany’s trade surplus widened more than expected in October following lower export growth and a greater-than-forecasted decline in imports.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its official cash rate target constant at 3.60% and National Australia Bank’s measure of business confidence fell in November. Meanwhile, Japan’s preliminary machine tool orders increased by 14.2% year-over-year in November.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed ahead of tomorrow’s Fed meeting.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.3% higher at $59.06/barrel amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.3% higher at $4,204.38/ounce.