Opening Comment — Thursday, November 05, 2026
DJIA: 53,356.12, up 1569.40
S&P 500: 7,688.62, up 119.70
NASDAQ:25,736.51, up 364.50
Stocks mixed before employment data
Stock futures are mixed Thursday morning as investors assess the scope of the future artificial intelligence buildout. Investors are also anticipating today’s labor market releases, including weekly initial and continuing jobless claims, the October Challenger Job Report, and the preliminary third-quarter nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. As of 7:26 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.5%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Wednesday as investors digested midterm results. Meanwhile, ADP’s measure of October private payrolls increased by a stronger-than-expected 86,000. The trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to $105.0 billion in September, as exports increased by a greater-than-projected 1.9% month-over-month (MOM) and imports rose by a weaker-than-expected 1.2% MOM. The Institute for Supply Management services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined more than forecasted to 54.5 in October, while the prices paid component unexpectedly fell to 73.0. Additionally, S&P Global’s finalized U.S. services PMI was revised lower to 56.1 from the preliminary reading of 57.9. The Dow was up 3.0%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4%. The S&P 500 increased 1.6% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary sector was the top performer, rising 4.3%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 4.8%.
On the data front, the Challenger Report on job cuts for October showed a 71.3% year-over-year (YOY) decline, with September having shown a decrease of 19.9%. Preliminary third-quarter nonfarm productivity growth is expected to come in at 2.7% quarter-over-quarter, versus the prior month’s increase of 1.4%, while unit labor costs are forecasted to have increased at an annualized 0.4% pace, down from the prior print of 1.2%. Initial jobless claims for the week ending October 31 are expected to come in at 196,000, higher than the prior week’s 194,000. Continuing claims are expected to rise slightly to 1.710 million for the week ending October 24 from the prior week’s 1.701 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading after the Bank of England raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) to 4.00%. The eurozone’s September Producer Price Index accelerated to 2.5% MOM, in line with expectations, while the YOY reading rose to 11.1%, exceeding expectations. Germany’s September factory orders rose a smaller-than-expected 4.4% MOM and increased 3.3% YOY, in line with expectations. Meanwhile, France’s industrial production unexpectedly fell 0.5% MOM and declined a more-than-forecasted 1.3% YOY in September.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Australia’s September trade surplus widened more-than-expected to A$2.83 ($1.99) billion, while the prior month’s surplus was revised lower to A$184 ($129) million. The country’s exports eased to a 2.3% MOM increase from the prior month’s downwardly revised 3.1% increase, while imports fell 3.3% MOM following an upwardly revised 6.2% increase.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher as investors await tomorrow’s U.S. October jobs report.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.0% higher at $89.02/barrel and Brent crude oil is up 1.8% at $96.31/barrel following a smaller-than-expected decline in U.S. crude oil inventories amid ongoing geopolitical instability.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.8% higher at $4,134.25/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.