Opening Comment — Wednesday, August 06, 2025
DJIA: 44,111.74, down 61.90
S&P 500: 6,299.19, down 30.75
NASDAQ: 20,916.55, down 137.03
Stocks higher ahead of possible trade updates
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as investors await updates on trade-deal progress ahead of the enforcement of many tariffs beginning tomorrow. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.4%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as the U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in June following a decline in imports. The Institute for Supply Management’s services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for July unexpectedly fell though remained just in expansionary territory, while the prices paid component rose contrary to projections. The Dow was down 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.5% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 0.8%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.1%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Banker Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 3.1% for the week ending August 1 versus the prior week’s decrease of 3.8%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to show little change for the week ending August 1 versus the prior week’s increase of 7.70 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as German factory orders recorded an unexpected monthly fall, decreasing by 1.0% month-over-month (MOM) and experienced a smaller-than-expected increase of 0.8% year-over-year (YOY) in June. The U.K.'s construction PMI declined while Germany's rose slightly in July, with both remaining in contractionary territory. The eurozone’s retail sales increased by 0.3% MOM in June, as expected, while rising by 3.1% YOY, slightly above the forecast.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Japan’s labor cash earnings registered a weaker-than-projected growth of 2.5% YOY, while the country’s real cash earnings experienced a sharper-than-anticipated decline of 1.3% YOY in June.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is slightly lower ahead of tomorrow’s Bank of England (BOE) meeting.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.8% higher at $66.30/barrel amid potential disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. threatens higher tariffs on India due to purchasing Russian oil.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.6% lower at $3,361.30/ounce despite a weakening dollar.