Opening Comment — Wednesday, November 19, 2025
DJIA: 46,091.74, down 498.50
S&P 500: 6,617.32, down 55.09
NASDAQ: 22,432.85, down 275.22
Stocks higher ahead of trade balance
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as investors are anticipating August’s trade balance data and the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s October 29 meeting. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.4% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as homebuilder sentiment rose in November and August’s factory orders increased in line with expectations. The Dow was down 1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.8% with five of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 0.6%, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.5%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 5.2% for the week ending November 14 versus the prior week’s increase of 0.6%. The U.S. trade deficit for August is expected to shrink to $60.4 billion from the prior month’s $78.3 billion. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 1.70 million barrels for the week ending November 14 versus the prior week’s increase of 6.41 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October met expectations, with the headline and core readings easing to 3.6% and 3.4% year-over-year (YOY), respectively, while the Retail Price Index came in as expected. Meanwhile, the British House Price Index for September showed an increase of 2.6% YOY. The eurozone’s finalized October CPI held steady, still showing headline inflation rising 2.1% YOY and 0.2% month-over-month (MOM).
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Japan’s September core machine orders showed greater-than-expected increases of 4.2% MOM and 11.6% YOY. Meanwhile, the Westpac Leading Index for Australia rose slightly in October and the country’s third-quarter Wage Price Index rose 0.8% quarter-over-quarter and 3.4% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher as investors await additional color from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting with today’s release of the minutes.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.7% lower at $59.73/barrel despite an expected decrease in reported crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.2% higher at $4,114.51/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.