Opening Comment — Wednesday, February 25, 2026
DJIA: 49,174.50, up 370.44
S&P 500: 6,890.07, up 52.32
NASDAQ: 22,863.68, up 236.41
Stocks higher ahead of key earnings report
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as investors await a major technology company’s earnings report, due today after markets close. As of 7:20 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.4% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Tuesday as February’s consumer confidence gained from the prior month’s upwardly revised reading. Meanwhile, measures of December U.S. home prices showed slower increases than the prior month’s upwardly revised numbers. The Dow was up 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.0%. The S&P 500 increased 0.8% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary sector was the top performer, rising 1.6%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.5%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 0.4% for the week ending February 20 versus the prior week’s increase of 2.8%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have increased by 1.925 million barrels for the week ending February 20 versus the prior week’s decrease of 9.014 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s finalized fourth gross domestic product (GDP) showed quarter-over-quarter growth of 0.3%, unchanged from the preliminary reading. German consumer confidence unexpectedly declined for March, while France’s consumer confidence rose in February, defying expectations for no change. French retail sales rose by 1.2% year-over-year (YOY) in January. Meanwhile, the eurozone’s finalized headline and core January Consumer Price Indexes (CPIs) rose 1.7% and 2.2% YOY, respectively, both unchanged from the preliminary reading.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Japan’s Services Producer Price Index rose 2.6% YOY in January, matching the prior month’s increase. Meanwhile, Australia’s CPI rose a greater-than-expected 3.8% YOY. South Korea’s retail sales rose by 4.4% YOY and its department store sales increased by 13.4% YOY in January.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.4% higher at $65.86/barrel despite an expected increase in crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.7% higher at $5,181.69/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.