Opening Comment — Thursday, May 28, 2026
DJIA: 50,644.28, up 182.60
S&P 500: 7,520.36, up 1.24
NASDAQ: 26,674.73, up 18.55
Stocks lower ahead of April’s PCE Deflator
Stock futures are lower Thursday morning as investors await today’s April Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Deflator and react to the latest military strikes between the U.S. and Iran, dampening earlier peace-deal optimism. Additional economic updates include April’s personal income, personal spending, and new home sales, along with the second reading of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). As of 7:21 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both decreasing 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.5% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly higher on Wednesday as oil prices continued declining following optimism over progress on a U.S.-Iran peace deal. The Dow was up 0.4% and reached a new record closing level of 50644.28, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% and hit a new record closing level of 26674.73. The S&P 500 was little changed and set a new record closing level of 7520.36, with five of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary sector was the top performer, rising 1.9%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.5%.
On the data front, April’s PCE Deflator is expected to rise 0.5% month-over-month (MOM) and 3.8% year-over-year (YOY) versus the prior month’s 0.7% and 3.5%, respectively. Meanwhile the core PCE Deflator is projected to increase 0.3% MOM and 3.3% YOY, compared to the prior month’s 0.3% and 3.2%, respectively. Personal income and personal spending are forecasted to rise 0.4% MOM and 0.5% MOM in April, respectively, slowing from the prior month’s 0.6% and 0.9% gains, respectively. The second reading of first-quarter GDP, personal consumption, the GDP Price Index, and the core PCE Price Index are expected to come in at annualized rates of 2.0%, 1.6%, 3.6%, and 4.3%, respectively, all similar to the initial readings. The preliminary reading of April’s durable goods orders is expected to rise 4.0% MOM versus the prior month’s 0.8%. Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 23 are forecasted to come in at 211,000, higher than the prior week’s 209,000, while continuing jobless claims for the week ending May 16 are projected to rise to 1.784 million from the prior week’s 1.782 million. April’s new home sales are expected to come in at an annualized pace of 660,000, down from the prior month’s 682,000. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories for the week ending May 22 is projected to fall by 3.00 million barrels, compared to a 7.86-million-barrel decline during the previous week. April’s finalized reading of building permits is expected to remain unchanged from the initial reading of a 1.44 million annualized pace.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s May economic confidence rose slightly from the prior month’s upwardly revised reading. Meanwhile, France’s April Producer Price Index fell 2.1% MOM.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower following the Bank of Korea hawkishly holding their policy rate steady at 2.50% in a 5-2 vote, with the dissents preferring a rate hike. Australia’s first-quarter private capital expenditure rose a more-than-expected 6.5% quarter-over-quarter.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of today’s U.S. economic data deluge.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.4% higher at $90.83/barrel, partially reversing yesterday’s declines.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.5% lower at $4,387.42/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.