Opening Comment — Monday, June 22, 2026
DJIA: 51,564.70, up 72.15
S&P 500: 7,500.58, up 80.48
NASDAQ: 26,517.93, up 496.27
Stocks flat to start off week
Stock futures are mostly unchanged Monday morning as investors evaluate developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations, though shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains extremely limited. Investors will be closely watching tomorrow’s’ preliminary June Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs), along with May’s personal income, personal spending, and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) deflator, set for release on Thursday. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is little changed relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Thursday following the signing of a ceasefire extension between the U.S. and Iran. Initial jobless claims fell and continuing claims for the week prior picked up. Meanwhile, the leading index for May increased as expected, rising 0.1%. The Dow was up 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.9%. The S&P 500 increased 1.1% with five of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 2.7%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.7%.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation, though will remain in his role until a new prime minister is chosen, which should occur by September 1. On Friday, Germany’s May Producer Price Index (PPI) showed smaller-than-expected increases, with prices rising by 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) and 2.2% year-over-year (YOY). The U.K.’s retail sales for May experienced larger-than-expected increases of 1.2% MOM and 3.2% YOY following upward revisions to last month’s data.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as China’s one- and five-year loan prime rates were left unchanged in June at 3.00% and 3.50%, respectively. Meanwhile, South Korean export and import data for the first 20 days of June increased by 60.4% and 23.2% YOY, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is little changed ahead of tomorrow’s U.S. PMI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.5% higher at $77.00/barrel amid progress in the U.S.–Iran peace negotiations.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.2% higher at $4,205.99/ounce.