Opening Comment — Friday, November 13, 2026
DJIA: 52,297.09, down 189.40
S&P 500: 7,592.40, down 26.98
NASDAQ: 25,366.09, down 100.10
Stocks higher ahead of PPI data
Stock futures are higher and Treasury yields are mixed before the opening bell Friday ahead of upcoming Producer Price Index (PPI) data amid expectations of further Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes and sustained inflationary pressures. Attention will also turn to remarks from several Fed officials today. Looking ahead to next week, the focus will be on October retail sales and industrial production reports, along with housing market data and Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes. As of 7:12 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is also increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX. Over in bond land, the yield on the 10-year note is unchanged at 5.13%, while the 30-year bond yield is increasing two basis points (0.02%) to 5.47%. The yield on the two-year note, which is more sensitive to changes in monetary policy, is down three basis points (0.03%) to 4.85%.
U.S. equities were lower and Treasury yields were higher on Thursday amid concerns over the outlook for artificial intelligence (AI)-related equities and uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Iran peace deal. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims rose more-than-anticipated and continuing claims for the week prior fell more-than-projected. Existing home sales experienced a larger-than-expected decline in October to an annualized pace of 3.75 million. Additionally, the federal budget deficit surpassed expectations in October, reaching $404.1 billion compared to the prior month’s revised deficit of $27.0 billion. The Dow was down 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.4%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.4% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.5%, while the Materials sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.5%. The yield on the 10-year note was up 14 basis points (0.14%) to 5.13%, while the 30-year bond yield rose 10 basis points (0.10%) to 5.45%. The yield on the two-year note increased 14 basis points (0.14%) to 4.88%. As of the end of day Thursday (November 12), futures markets are pricing in 28 basis points (0.28%) worth of rate hikes at the Fed’s upcoming December meeting, with a cumulative 86 basis points (0.86%) worth of rate hikes by year-end 2027.
Technical Analysis
None at this time
On the data front, the headline PPI for October is expected to show price increases of 0.4% month-over-month (MOM) and 6.6% year-over-year (YOY) versus the prior month’s increases of 1.3% and 6.3%, respectively. The core PPI is expected to show price increases of 0.3% MOM and 5.0% YOY versus the prior month’s increases of 0.7% and 5.0%, respectively.
In the central bank space, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, Boston Fed President Susan Collins, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan are scheduled to speak today.
Mortgage rates were lower in the latest week. For the week ending November 12, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was down seven basis points (0.07%) to 7.11%, versus 6.24% a year ago. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate decreased 12 basis points (0.12%) to 6.45%, versus 5.49% a year ago.
Municipal market commentary
None at this time.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s October Wholesale Price Index increased 0.4% MOM and 8.8% YOY. The eurozone’s second estimate of third-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed the economy expanding by 0.4% quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) and 1.3% YOY, in line with expectations and unchanged from the preliminary reading. Meanwhile, the region’s September trade deficit widened to €8.7 ($9.6) billion from a revised deficit of €7.8 ($8.6) billion. France’s finalized October Consumer Price Index held steady, still showing headline inflation rising 3.4% YOY and 0.4% MOM.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s preliminary reading of third-quarter current account surplus widened to $276.1 billion from $193.7 billion in the prior quarter, on a balance-of-payments basis. South Korea's October Export Price Index increased 0.7% MOM and eased to 36.7% YOY, while the Import Price Index fell 1.8% MOM and eased to 13.5% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed ahead of today’s U.S. PPI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.1% lower at $88.65/barrel and Brent crude oil is up 0.4% at $96.19/barrel following an unexpected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories, while persistent threats to shipping remain.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.5% higher at $3,895.11/ounce.