Opening Comment — Wednesday, September 23, 2026
DJIA: 51,863.69, down 185.14
S&P 500: 7,764.64, down 0.06
NASDAQ: 27,244.28, up 122.19
Stocks lower ahead of PMI data
Stock futures are mostly lower Wednesday morning ahead of preliminary reading of September purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) from S&P Global and tomorrow’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. As of 7:23 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is flat. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Tuesday as investors digested U.S.-Iran talks and President Trump’s address at the United Nations General Assembly. Meanwhile the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Richmond’s latest surveys painted a mixed picture of business activity in September, with the manufacturing composite index declining more than expected and the non-manufacturing composite index unexpectedly improving. The Dow was down 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% and hit a new record closing level of 27,244.28. The S&P 500 was little changed with five of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 1.9%, while the Financials sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.0%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 1.5% for the week ending September 18 versus the prior week’s decrease of 4.1%. The preliminary reading of S&P Global’s composite PMI for September is expected to come in at 55.3 versus the prior month’s 56.0, with the manufacturing and services PMIs forecasted at 53.7 and 55.8, respectively, compared to the prior month’s 53.9 and 56.5, respectively. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 690,000 barrels for the week ending September 18 versus the prior week’s decrease of 640,000 barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as the preliminary September manufacturing PMIs for the eurozone, U.K., France, and Germany held steady at 52.7, rose to 52.0, fell to 50.3, and eased to 53.8, respectively. Meanwhile, the preliminary September services PMIs for the eurozone, France, and Germany rose to 53.0, 51.4, and 52.9, respectively, while the U.K.’s measure eased to 51.7.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Australia’s preliminary September manufacturing, services, and composite PMIs slipped to 49.3, 51.4, and 50.8, respectively. Meanwhile, South Korea’s consumer confidence index improved to 106.6 in September, while August retail sales growth accelerated to 7.7% year over year.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of today’s U.S. PMI releases.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.7% lower at $89.85/barrel, extending this week’s declines following optimism that oil flows out of the Middle East could rise.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.1% lower at $4,314.80/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.