Opening Comment — Monday, August 17, 2026
DJIA: 53,732.41, down 107.58
S&P 500: 7,785.76, down 13.23
NASDAQ: 26,729.16, down 73.87
Stocks mixed to start off week
Stock futures are mixed Monday morning ahead of today’s manufacturing data from the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York, along with a measure of homebuilder sentiment. Investors are also awaiting this week's release of the minutes from the July 29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and S&P Global's preliminary August Purchasing Managers' Indexes (PMIs), due on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. As of 7:20 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.5% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Friday as retail sales unexpectedly fell in July, decreasing by 0.6% month-over-month (MOM). The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for August declined more than anticipated, while inflation expectations rose to 4.3% for the one-year outlook and remained steady at 3.3% for the five-to-ten-year horizon. The Dow was down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.2% with five of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.4%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.6%.
On the data front, the New York Fed will release their Empire State Manufacturing Survey for August, with the headline general business conditions index expected to fall to 10.0 from the prior month’s 15.6. The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Market Index is forecasted to decline to 33 for August from the prior month’s 34.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s house prices weakened further in August according to data from Rightmove, with prices declining 2.0% MOM and 1.0% year-over-year (YOY), compared with decreases of 1.0% MOM and 0.4% YOY in the prior month.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Japan's preliminary second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in weaker than expected, with real GDP increasing 0.3% quarter-over-quarter. The country’s finalized reading of industrial production for June was revised higher to 1.9% MOM and 4.9% YOY, while capacity utilization increased 4.1% MOM. Meanwhile, the Japanese Tertiary (services) Industry Index declined less than expected in June, falling 0.2% MOM. China's July retail sales and industrial production showed smaller-than-projected increases of 0.6% and 4.5% YOY, respectively, while the country’s urban unemployment rate rose to 5.2%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of this week's release of the July 29 FOMC meeting minutes, due Wednesday.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.7% higher at $82.96/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.5% higher at $4,398.48/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.