Opening Comment — Wednesday, September 09, 2026
DJIA: 52,786.07, down 628.18
S&P 500: 7,673.52, down 45.08
NASDAQ: 26,421.41, down 85.58
Stocks lower as Iran war tensions escalate
Stock futures are lower Wednesday morning as oil prices continued to rise following the U.S. destroying several more Iranian oil tankers in response to attacks on an American warship. Investors are also looking ahead to tomorrow's August Producer Price Index (PPI) report and Friday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) release for further insight into inflation trends. As of 7:41 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.6%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.5% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as markets assessed over-the-weekend developments between the U.S. and Iran. Consumer credit expanded by a greater-than-expected $18.1 billion in July, following the prior month’s upwardly revised reading. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s one-year inflation expectations eased more than anticipated to 3.58% in August. The Dow was down 1.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.6% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.0%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.6%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 2.7% for the week ending September 4 versus the prior week’s increase of 0.8%.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as French industrial production and manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in July, declining 0.4% and 0.8% month-over-month, respectively, and decreasing 0.5% and 2.0% year-over-year (YOY), respectively.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s headline CPI accelerated to 0.8% YOY, matching expectations, while core CPI unexpectedly picked up to 1.0% YOY in August. Meanwhile, the country’s PPI accelerated more than anticipated to 3.8% YOY in August. South Korea’s unemployment rate eased to 2.7% in August against expectations of holding steady at 2.8%. Japan's preliminary reading of machine tool orders rose 64.7% YOY in August.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed ahead of tomorrow’s U.S. PPI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.4% higher at $95.23/barrel, the highest price in three months.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.1% higher at $4,401.53/ounce.