Opening Comment — Monday, January 26, 2026
DJIA: 49,098.71, down 285.30
S&P 500: 6,915.61, up 2.26
NASDAQ: 23,501.24, up 65.22
Stocks lower to start off week
Stock futures are mostly lower Monday morning ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting concluding on Wednesday. Investors will also be awaiting updates on Congressional funding bills to avoid a partial government shutdown that would start on Saturday (January 31). As of 7:50 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Friday as preliminary January purchasing managers’ indexes for both manufacturing and services from S&P Global were little changed from the prior month, coming in at 51.9 and 52.5, respectively. Meanwhile, January’s consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan was revised higher. The Dow was down 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%. The S&P 500 was little changed with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 0.9%, while the Financials sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.4%.
On the data front, the Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index for both October and November will be released, with November’s reading expected to come in at -0.20. The preliminary reading of durable goods orders for November is projected to rise 3.8% month over month versus the prior month’s decline of 2.2%. The Dallas Fed’s Texas Manufacturing Survey for January will be released, with the general business activity index forecasted to rise to -8.6 from the prior month’s -10.9.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as Germany’s Ifo business climate index for January came in at 87.6, unchanged from the prior month.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as Japan’s finalized leading index for November was revised slightly lower.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of this week’s Fed meeting.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.2% higher at $61.18/barrel following U.S. weather-related supply disruptions.
In the metals complex, gold is 2.1% higher at $5,090.99/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.