Opening Comment — Thursday, August 28, 2025
DJIA: 45,565.23, up 147.16
S&P 500: 6,481.40, up 15.46
NASDAQ: 21,590.14, up 45.87
Stocks mixed ahead of GDP data
Stock futures are mixed Thursday morning ahead of today’s economic releases, including the second readings of second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation data, along with updates on jobless claims and pending home sales. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Wednesday as markets further digested President Donald Trump's move to dismiss a Federal Reserve (Fed) governor, which had sparked worries over the central bank's autonomy. The Dow was up 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%. The S&P 500 increased 0.2% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.2%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.1%.
On the data front, the second readings of second-quarter GDP and personal consumption are expected to be revised higher to annualized growth rates of 3.1% and 1.6%, respectively, compared to the initial readings showing increases of 3.0% and 1.4%, respectively. The second readings of the second-quarter GDP Price Index and the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index are forecasted to come in at annualized growth rates of 2.0% and 2.5%, respectively, similar to the initial readings. Initial jobless claims for the week ending August 23 are expected to come in at 230,000, lower than the prior week’s 235,000, while continuing claims are expected to come in at 1.966 million for the week ending August 16, down from the prior week’s 1.972 million. Pending home sales for July are expected to have decreased 0.2% month-over-month (MOM) and increased 0.1% year-over-year (YOY), versus the prior month’s decreases of 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively. The Kansas City Fed will release their Manufacturing Survey for August, with the composite index expected to come in at 1, similar to the prior month’s reading.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s M3 (a broad measure of the money supply) for July expanded by 3.4%, falling just short of projections. Meanwhile, the region’s finalized reading of consumer confidence index for August came in at a negative 15.5, similar to the prior reading.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Australia’s second quarter private capital expenditure registered a weaker-than-expected growth of 0.2% quarter-over-quarter. The Bank of Korea kept its policy rate unchanged at 2.50% for the second consecutive meeting.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is lower ahead of today’s second look at U.S. second-quarter GDP and inflation data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.4% lower at $63.89/barrel despite a greater-than-expected decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% higher at $3,424.10/ounce following a weakening dollar.