Opening Comment — Friday, September 18, 2026
DJIA: 51,778.04, up 316.14
S&P 500: 7,637.76, up 85.95
NASDAQ: 26,418.30, up 439.87
Stocks higher to end out week
Stock futures are mostly higher Friday morning as investors await the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) commentary and today’s economic releases, including August’s industrial production and leading index. Next week, markets will be watching for preliminary September purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs). As of 7:13 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Thursday as markets digested the Fed’s unanimous rate hike and projection for another rate hike this year. Both initial jobless claims and continuing claims for the prior week fell. August housing market data was mixed, with pending home sales unexpectedly rising while housing starts and the preliminary reading of building permits both declined. The Dow was up 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7%. The S&P 500 increased 1.1% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 2.2%, while the Financials sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.1%.
Technical Analysis
None at this time.
On the data front, industrial production is expected to have expanded by 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) in August, compared to the prior month’s increase of 0.2%, while capacity utilization is projected to have risen to 76.4% from the prior month’s 76.3%. The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index for August is forecasted to show an increase of 0.1%, versus the prior month’s increase of 0.2%.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as Germany’s Producer Price Index (PPI) rose more than expected in August, increasing 1.1% MOM and 4.6% year-over-year (YOY). Meanwhile, the U.K.’s retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.5% MOM and increased 2.4% YOY, exceeding projections in August. The European Central Bank’s August Consumer Expectations Survey showed one-year and three-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) expectations edging higher to 3.0% and 2.9%, respectively. The eurozone’s current account surplus contracted in July.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) to 1.25%, as widely expected. Meanwhile, both the headline and core measures of Japan’s August national CPI increased 1.9% YOY, with both unchanged from the prior month’s increase and coming in below expectations. South Korea’s August PPI accelerated to 7.9% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher as investors continued to assess recent central bank policy meetings and interest rate decisions.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.1% lower at $100.76/barrel, with prices up only slightly for the week.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.9% higher at $4,381.86/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.