Opening Comment — Tuesday, March 24, 2026
DJIA: 46,208.47, up 631.00
S&P 500: 6,581.00, up 74.52
NASDAQ: 21,946.76, up 299.15
Stocks lower ahead of PMI data
Stock futures are lower Tuesday morning as investors are looking forward to preliminary March purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) from S&P Global, finalized fourth-quarter nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs, along with economic data from the Federal Reserve (Fed) Banks of Philadelphia and Richmond. Investors are also assessing continued military strikes by Israel and Iran. As of 7:19 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both decreasing 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Monday as markets hoped for a deescalation of the Iran War following comments from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would postpone attacks on Iranian energy facilities. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index for February weakened significantly more than anticipated, falling to -0.11 versus the prior month’s revised 0.20. Meanwhile, construction spending in January unexpectedly declined, falling by 0.3% month-over-month. The Dow was up 1.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also rose 1.4%. The S&P 500 increased 1.2% with all 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary sector was the top performer, rising 2.5%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, ending the day little changed.
On the data front, the Philadelphia Fed will release their March Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey, with the diffusion index of current general activity forecasted to improve to -15.7 from the prior month’s -17.3. The finalized reading of fourth-quarter nonfarm productivity growth is expected to come in at 1.8% quarter-over-quarter, down from the preliminary print of 2.8%, while unit labor costs are forecasted to have increased at an annualized 3.6% pace, up from the preliminary print of 2.8%. The preliminary reading of S&P Global’s composite PMI for March is expected to come in at 51.9, similar to the prior month’s reading, with the manufacturing and services PMIs forecasted at 51.5 and 52.0, respectively, compared to the prior month’s 51.6 and 51.7, respectively. The Richmond Fed’s March Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity will be released today, with the headline composite manufacturing index expected to improve to -8 from the prior month’s -10. The Richmond Fed’s March Fifth District Survey of Service Sector Activity will also be released today, with the headline composite services index also expected to improve to -8 from the prior month’s -10.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as the preliminary manufacturing PMIs for the eurozone, U.K., Germany, and France came in at 51.4, 51.4, 51.7, and 50.2, respectively, Meanwhile, the preliminary services PMIs for the same regions came in at 50.1, 51.2, 51.2, and 48.3, respectively.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Australia’s preliminary reading of services, manufacturing, and composite PMIs for March declined to 46.6., 50.1, and 47.0, respectively. Meanwhile, Japan’s national headline and core Consumer Price Index in February registered smaller-than-expected increases of 1.3% and 2.5% year-over-year (YOY), respectively. The country’s preliminary reading of services, manufacturing, and composite PMIs for March fell to 52.8, 51.4, and 52.5, respectively. South Korea’s Producer Price Index accelerated to 2.4% YOY in February.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher as investors await today’s U.S. PMI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.5% higher at $90.32/barrel in the face of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.6% higher at $4,434.21/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.