Opening Comment — Tuesday, July 28, 2026
DJIA: 52,210.08, up 262.83
S&P 500: 7,413.18, up 1.20
NASDAQ: 24,932.08, down 43.74
Stocks mixed as chip stocks decline
Stock futures are mixed Tuesday morning following declines in semiconductor stocks ahead of major technology companies’ earnings releases tomorrow and Thursday. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting today’s economic releases, including July consumer confidence, June’s advance goods trade balance, and May home price data. Attention is also turning to the Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting, where tomorrow policymakers are expected to keep interest rates unchanged. As of 7:18 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.7%, while the S&P 500 is flat. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.9% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Monday as the preliminary reading of durable goods orders for June registered a smaller-than-expected increase of 0.3% month-over-month (MOM), compared to the prior month’s revised decrease of 4.0%. Meanwhile, markets evaluated a pause in strikes by the U.S. and Iran. The Dow was up 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. The S&P 500 was little changed with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Staples sector was the top performer, rising 1.6%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.0%.
On the data front, the advance goods trade balance for June is projected to show a deficit of $100.0 billion, lower than the prior month’s revised deficit of $105.9 billion. Meanwhile, the preliminary June reading of wholesale inventories is expected to show an increase of 0.4% MOM, compared to the prior month’s 0.1%, while retail inventories are forecasted to have increased by 0.4% MOM in June, versus the prior month’s increase of 0.6%. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index is expected to show an increase of 0.1% MOM in May, compared to the prior month’s 0.1% decrease. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index for May is expected to show little change MOM and an increase of 1.30% year-over-year, versus the prior month’s decrease of 0.04% and increase of 1.14%, respectively. The Richmond Fed’s July Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity will be released today, with the headline composite manufacturing index expected to improve to 6 from the prior month’s 4. The Conference Board’s reading of July consumer confidence is projected to come in at 92.4 versus the prior month’s 91.2. The Dallas Fed will release their Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey for July, with the general business activity index forecasted to improve to 3.8 from the prior month’s 2.9.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as France’s July consumer confidence improved more than forecasted to 86, compared to the prior month’s 84.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower, with the South Korean Kospi Index down over 10% as chip stocks fell. South Korea’s July consumer confidence index rose to 106.8, compared to the prior month’s 106.6. Meanwhile, Japan’s finalized composite leading index was revised lower to 116.5 in May.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher as investors are awaiting this week’s policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England meetings.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.8% lower at $81.09/barrel following easing concerns about the U.S.-Iran conflict.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.2% lower at $4,028.17/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.