Opening Comment — Tuesday, September 15, 2026
DJIA: 52,421.20, down 152.09
S&P 500: 7,619.98, down 37.00
NASDAQ: 26,186.41, down 146.63
Stocks lower ahead of tomorrow’s Fed decision
Stock futures are lower Tuesday morning as investors are looking ahead to tomorrow’s Federal Reserve (Fed) policy decision and updated Summary of Economic Projections, along with Chair Kevin Warsh’s post-meeting conference. As of 7:18 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 lower on Monday as oil prices rose following further supply constraints in the Middle East. The Dow was down 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.5% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 2.8%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.7%.
On the data front, the New York Fed will release their Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September, with the headline general business conditions index expected to fall to 15.0 from the prior month’s 20.6.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s three-month average unemployment rate through July remained steady at 4.9% and average weekly earnings growth decelerated in line with expectations. Meanwhile, the country’s jobless claims rose, and the claimant count rate increased in August. The eurozone’s trade surplus expanded in July. ZEW measures of economic growth expectations fell for the eurozone and rose less than expected for Germany in September.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were lower as China's August retail sales registered a smaller-than-projected increase of 0.4% year-over-year (YOY). In contrast, industrial production accelerated to 5.2% YOY, surpassing expectations. The country’s new home prices declined 0.17% month-over-month (MOM). South Korea's Export Price Index declined 3.7% MOM and eased to 42.4% YOY. Japan's Tertiary (service) Industry Index increased a more-than-expected 0.4% MOM in July.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of this week's major central bank policy decisions, beginning with the Fed tomorrow, followed by the Bank of England on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.8% higher at $103.18/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.4% lower at $4,281.51/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.