Opening Comment — Friday, January 30, 2026
DJIA: 49,071.56, up 55.96
S&P 500: 6,969.01, down 9.02
NASDAQ: 23,685.12, down 172.33
Stocks lower ahead of PPI data
Stock futures are lower Friday morning ahead of today’s December Producer Price Index (PPI) and January’s Chicago purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data from Market News International (MNI). As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.3%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.5% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Thursday as initial jobless claims came in higher than expected while continuing claims declined. The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in November, while factory orders for the month posted a larger than expected increase of 2.7% month over month (MOM). The Dow was up 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.1% with four of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 2.9%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.9%.
Technical Analysis
As of midday Thursday, the S&P 500 Index is still in an uptrend, with support at the 50-day and 200-day moving averages (6852 and 6421, respectively) and resistance at 7,000.
On the data front, the headline PPI for December is expected to show price increases of 0.2% MOM and 2.8% year-over-year (YOY) versus the prior month’s increases of 0.2% and 3.0%, respectively. The core PPI is expected to show price increases of 0.2% MOM and 2.9% YOY versus the prior month’s little change and rise of 3.0%, respectively. The MNI Chicago PMI for January is expected to come in at 43.7, up from the prior month’s 43.5.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the advance reading of fourth-quarter eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) showed a 0.3% quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) increase, with France and Germany’s preliminary fourth-quarter GDPs growing 0.2% QOQ and 0.3% QOQ, respectively. Meanwhile, the eurozone’s December unemployment rate ticked down to 6.2% against expectations of no change. The European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) December Consumer Expectations Survey showed one-year inflation expectations projected to hold steady at 2.8% and three-year-ahead expectations forecasted to rise to 2.6%.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as South Korea’s industrial production for December registered a greater-than-expected increase of 1.7% MOM. Japan’s Tokyo Consumer Price Index cooled more than expected in January, both on a headline and core basis, rising 1.5% and 2.4% YOY, respectively. In December, the country’s retail sales and industrial production declined 2.0% and 0.1% MOM, respectively, and the jobless rate remained steady at 2.6%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of next week’s ECB and Bank of England meetings.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.0% lower at $64.74/barrel as concerns of a U.S.-Iran conflict eased.
In the metals complex, gold is 4.5% lower at $5,135.42/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.