Opening Comment — Friday, March 27, 2026
DJIA: 45,960.11, down 469.38
S&P 500: 6,477.16, down 114.74
NASDAQ: 21,408.08, down 521.75
Stocks lower to end out week
Stock futures are lower Friday morning as markets remain concerned about the impact and duration of the Iran war despite President Donald Trump announcing an extension of the postponement of strikes on Iranian energy facilities. Investors are awaiting today’s finalized March consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan, along with looking forward to next week’s March jobs report and other labor market data. As of 7:19 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.4%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.5%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Thursday as initial jobless claims picked up, though continuing claims for the week prior fell. The Dow was down 1.0%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.4%. The S&P 500 decreased 1.7% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.6%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 3.5%.
Technical Analysis
As of midday Thursday, the S&P 500 Index is still in an uptrend, with resistance at the 200 day and 50 day moving averages (6633 and 6826, respectively) and support hard to pinpoint.
On the data front, the finalized reading of March consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan is expected to come in at 54.0 versus the initial reading of 55.5, while one-year and 5-10-year inflation expectations are projected to come in at 3.6% and 3.5%, respectively, compared to the initial readings 3.4% and 3.2%, respectively. The Kansas City Federal Reserve will release their services survey for March, with the Composite Index expected to come in at 4, down from the prior month’s reading of 6.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as British retail sales registered a smaller-than-expected decrease of 0.4% month-over-month and stronger-than-expected increase of 2.5% year-over-year (YOY) in February. The European Central Bank’s February Consumer Expectations Survey showed one year and three year inflation expectations both easing slightly to 2.5%, contrary to expectations for a pickup.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s industrial profits for the first two months of the year increased 15.2% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of next week’s U.S. labor market data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.2% higher at $96.58/barrel amid ongoing geopolitical tension.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.8% higher at $4,412.34/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.