Opening Comment — Wednesday, May 14, 2025
DJIA: 42,140.43, down 269.67
S&P 500: 5,886.55, up 42.36
NASDAQ: 19,010.08, up 301.74
Stocks higher ahead of Fed speakers
Stock futures are mostly higher Wednesday morning ahead of comments from several Federal Reserve (Fed) members. Investors are also awaiting this week’s April Producer Price Index (PPI) data along with the University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on consumer sentiment for May out tomorrow and Friday, respectively. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Tuesday as the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in cooler than expected month-over-month (MOM) on a headline and core basis. Meanwhile, the headline CPI decelerated to 2.3% year-over-year (YOY), while the core measure remained unchanged at 2.8% YOY. The Dow was down 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.6%. The S&P 500 increased 0.7% with six of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 2.3%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, falling 3.0%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 1.1% for the week ending May 9 versus the prior week’s increase of 11.0%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to decline by 2.21 million barrels for the week ending May 9 versus the prior week’s decrease of 2.03 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as Germany’s finalized April CPI remained unchanged from the prior reading, coming in at 0.4% MOM and 2.1% YOY.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed following South Korea’s unemployment rate falling to 2.7% in April, compared to an anticipated increase. Japan’s April PPI cooled to 4.0% YOY, matching forecasts.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is lower, paring back most of this week’s gains that followed optimism over trade negotiations.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.0% lower at $63.01/barrel, paring back some of the gains that followed the announcement of a temporary easing of U.S.-China tariffs.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.4% lower at $3,234.70/ounce despite a weakening dollar.