Opening Comment — Thursday, April 02, 2026
DJIA: 46,565.74, up 224.23
S&P 500: 6,575.32, up 46.80
NASDAQ: 21,840.95, up 250.32
Stocks lower following Trump’s comments
Stock futures are lower Thursday morning as investors digest last night’s comments from President Donald Trump on the Iran war and ahead of today’s economic releases, including data on job cuts, jobless claims, and the trade balance. Markets will be closed tomorrow for Good Friday, but investors will be watching for the March jobs report. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 1.2%, while the S&P 500 is down 1.5%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 1.9% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Wednesday as the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) unexpectedly rose to 52.7 in March, accompanied by a larger-than-expected increase in the prices paid component to 78.3. Meanwhile, the ADP Employment Report for March recorded significantly stronger-than-expected private nonfarm payroll gains. Retail sales exceeded projections in February, while business inventories unexpectedly declined in January. The Dow was up 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2%. The S&P 500 increased 0.7% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 1.7%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 3.9%.
Technical Analysis
As of midday Wednesday, the S&P 500 Index is still in an uptrend, with support difficult to pinpoint but potentially in the 6,000–6,200 zone, while resistance is seen at the 200 day and 50 day moving averages (6,642 and 6,790, respectively).
On the data front, the Challenger Report on job cuts for March will be released today, with February having shown a 71.9% year-over-year decrease. The U.S. trade deficit is expected to widen in February to $60.6 billion from the prior month’s $54.5 billion, with exports projected to fall 2.3% month-over-month (MOM) and imports forecasted to decline 0.2% MOM, versus the prior month’s increase of 5.5% and fall of 0.7% MOM, respectively. Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 28 are expected to come in at 212,000 versus the prior week’s 210,000, while continuing claims for the week ending March 21 are expected to rise to 1.84 million from the prior week’s 1.82 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as France’s year to date budget deficit widened sharply to €32.1 ($37.0) billion in February, from €9.7 ($11.2) billion in January. The U.K.’s Decision Maker Panel survey data indicated firmer inflation expectations in March, with 3 month output price expectations rising to 3.5% from 3.4%, alongside a notable increase in 1 year Consumer Price Index (CPI) expectations to 3.5% from 3.0%.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as South Korea’s CPI rose a less-than-projected 0.3% MOM in March, while year over year (YOY) inflation accelerated less than expected to 2.2%. Japan's March monetary base decreased 11.6% YOY, compared to the prior month’s decrease of 10.6%. Australia’s trade surplus widened more than expected in February as imports declined and exports increased.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher as investors await U.S. trade balance and labor market data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 7.9% higher at $108.04/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 2.9% lower at $4,620.12/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.