Opening Comment — Thursday, September 24, 2026
DJIA: 51,511.59, down 352.10
S&P 500: 7,706.03, down 58.61
NASDAQ: 26,936.04, down 308.24
Stocks lower following yield volatility
Stock futures are lower Thursday morning ahead of today’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of Xi’s three-day state visit. Investors are also awaiting August new home sales data and the latest weekly unemployment claims report. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.5%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.9% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Wednesday following the significant move higher for yields as S&P Global’s preliminary September purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) came in much stronger than expected, fueling market expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes. The manufacturing, services, and composite PMIs unexpectedly rose to 57.0, 58.7, and 58.4, respectively. Markets also assessed continued hawkish commentary from Fed officials. The Dow was down 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.8% with 10 of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.0%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.9%.
On the data front, the U.S. current account balance for the second quarter is expected to show a deficit of $257.4 billion, compared to the previous quarter’s deficit of $226.8 billion. Initial jobless claims for the week ending September 19 are expected to come in at 200,000, lower than the prior week’s 196,000, while continuing claims are expected to come in at 1.74 million for the week ending September 12, up from the prior week’s 1.73 million. Meanwhile, new home sales are projected to have been at an annualized 616,000 pace in August versus the prior month’s 607,000 pace. The Kansas City Fed will release their Manufacturing Survey for September, with the composite index expected to come in at 9, down from the prior month’s 10. The finalized reading of August building permits will be released today, with the preliminary reading showing an annualized 1.35 million corresponding to a month-over-month (MOM) decrease of 2.7%.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as Germany’s Ifo Business Climate Index rose more than expected to 89.9 in September. France's Consumer Confidence Index held steady at 86 in September, defying expectations for a decline. Meanwhile, the country's September Manufacturing Confidence Index unexpectedly remained unchanged at 101, following the previous month's downwardly revised reading.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as Japan's preliminary September PMIs weakened across the board, with the composite, manufacturing, and services PMIs declining to 52.5, 54.1 and 51.6, respectively. Australia's labor market data for August showed employment increasing by 39,500 jobs against expectations for a 20,000 increase. The country’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6% from 4.5%, while the participation rate increased to 67.1% from 66.9%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher following heightened Fed rate hike expectations.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.0% higher at $93.04/barrel, though still down materially for the week.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.7% lower at $4,258.07/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.