Opening Comment — Thursday, October 08, 2026
DJIA: 51,179.87, down 341.41
S&P 500: 7,801.77, down 17.16
NASDAQ: 27,538.69, down 61.20
Stocks lower following Middle East concerns
Stock futures are lower Thursday morning as oil prices rise following heightened hostilities in the Middle East. Investors will also be looking for today’s fresh unemployment claims data and Federal Reserve (Fed) Commentary. As of 7:16 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 1.0%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.5%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.8% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Wednesday as investors digested the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) meeting minutes released yesterday, which revealed that Fed policymakers were unanimous in their decision to hike interest rates. Additionally, consumer credit posted a significantly smaller-than-expected increase in August, rising by $8.28 billion compared with July’s downwardly revised $17.74 billion increase. Meanwhile, the New York Fed’s September 2026 Survey of Consumer Expectations showed a substantially larger-than-anticipated rise in one-year-ahead inflation expectations, with the measure increasing to 3.90%. The Dow was down 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.2% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Health Care sector was the top performer, rising 1.1%, while the Industrials sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.1%.
On the data front, initial jobless claims for the week ending October 3 are expected to come in at 200,000, higher than the prior week’s 197,000, while continuing claims for the week ending September 26 are expected to fall slightly to 1.700 million from the prior week’s 1.701 million. The finalized August reading of wholesale inventories is expected to show an increase of 0.7% month-over-month (MOM), similar to the initial reading.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as Germany’s trade surplus narrowed to €19.5 ($21.8) billion in August, as exports unexpectedly fell 0.8% MOM and imports rose a smaller-than-expected 0.9% MOM. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ House Price Balance declined more than expected, falling to 32% in September.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were lower as South Korea’s current account surplus widened to $4.6 billion in August on a balance-of-payments basis. Meanwhile, Japan’s current account surplus and trade deficit both widened in August on a balance-of-payments basis. Australia’s foreign exchange reserves rose to A$109.7 ($76.1) billion in September, while a measure of the country’s inflation expectations rose to 5.3% in October.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher ahead of tomorrow’s data on U.S. consumer sentiment.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil are both 5.0% higher at $92.68/barrel and $105.24/barrel, respectively, following talks of potential large-scale strikes by the U.S. on Iran.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.2% higher at $4,119.37/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.