Opening Comment — Friday, October 17, 2025
DJIA: 45,952.24, down 301.07
S&P 500: 6,629.07, down 41.99
NASDAQ: 22,562.54, down 107.54
Stocks lower to end out week
Stock futures are lower Friday morning following continued concerns about regional banks. Next week, investors will be watching for preliminary October purchasing managers’ indexes from S&P Global and September’s Consumer Price Index, which has been rescheduled for release Friday (October 24). As of 7:19 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Thursday as the U.S. federal budget surplus widened in October, while a gauge of homebuilder sentiment rose more than anticipated in October. The Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) Philadelphia’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey revealed a sharper-than-expected decline in the diffusion index for current general activity, while the New York Fed’s Business Leaders Survey for October showed continued weakness in the region's service sector. The Dow was down 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.6% with 10 of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 0.1%, while the Financials sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.8%.
Technical analysis
None at this time.
On the data front, the release of several key economic reports scheduled for today, including September’s housing starts, building permits, Import and Export Price Indexes, and industrial production, may be delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown and lack of available data.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s finalized September Consumer Price Index held steady, still showing headline inflation rising 2.2% year-over-year (YOY) and 0.1% month-over-month (MOM).
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as South Korea’s Export Price Index registered increases of 0.6% MOM and 2.2% YOY in September, while the Import Price Index rose by 0.2% MOM and 0.6% YOY. Meanwhile, the country’s unemployment rate edged down to 2.5% in September.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is slightly lower as the U.S. government shutdown continues.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.6% lower at $57.12/barrel following an unexpected increase in crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% higher at $4,328.59/ounce following a significant rise yesterday.
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