Opening Comment — Wednesday, January 21, 2026
DJIA: 48,488.59, down 870.74
S&P 500: 6,796.86, down 143.15
NASDAQ: 22,954.32, down 561.07
Stocks lower ahead of pending home data
Stock futures are mostly lower Wednesday morning ahead of today’s December pending home sales report. As of 7:20 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 lower on Tuesday as markets digested U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on countries opposing his plans to take over Greenland. The Dow was down 1.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.4%. The S&P 500 decreased 2.1% with 10 of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Consumer Staples sector was the top performer, rising 0.1%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.9%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Banker Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 14.1% for the week ending January 16 versus the prior week’s increase of 28.5%. Construction spending is projected to have increased 0.1% month-over-month (MOM) in October. Pending home sales for December are expected to have decreased 0.3% MOM versus the prior month’s increase of 3.3%.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4% MOM in December, matching expectations, with headline inflation accelerating to 3.4% year-over-year (YOY) and core inflation holding steady at 3.2% YOY. The British House Price Index for November showed an increase of 2.5% YOY, while the Retail Price Index came in hotter than projected in December. Meanwhile, France’s December retail sales declined by 1.0% YOY.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed after the Westpac Leading Index for Australia showed a slight rise in December. South Korea’s exports and imports through the first 20 days of January increased 14.9% and 4.2% YOY, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed as investors are awaiting policy decisions from the central banks of Norway and Japan on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.1% higher at $60.39/barrel following yesterday’s increases.
In the metals complex, gold is 2.1% higher at $4,861.99/ounce.