Opening Comment — Tuesday, January 27, 2026
DJIA: 49,412.40, up 313.69
S&P 500: 6,950.23, up 34.62
NASDAQ: 23,601.36, up 100.12
Stocks mixed ahead of consumer confidence
Stock futures are mixed Tuesday morning as investors are looking forward to today’s economic releases, including January’s consumer confidence and November’s home price data. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.4%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Monday as November’s preliminary durable goods orders rose more than expected. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index for November came in higher than anticipated. The Dow was up 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. The S&P 500 increased 0.5% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 1.3%, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.7%.
On the data front, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index is expected to rise 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) in November, compared to the prior month’s 0.4% increase. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index for November is expected to register increases of 0.22% MOM and 1.20% year-over-year (YOY), versus the prior month’s increases of 0.32% and 1.31%, respectively. The Richmond Fed’s January Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity will be released today, with the headline composite manufacturing index expected to improve to negative 5 from the prior month’s negative 7. The Conference Board’s reading of January consumer confidence is projected to come in at 91.0 versus the prior month’s 89.1. The Dallas Fed will release their Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey for January, with the general business activity index expected to come in at negative 2.4, up from the prior month’s negative 3.3.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading following the historic European Union-India trade agreement. Meanwhile, France’s consumer confidence remained steady in January.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were higher as Japan’s December Producer Price Index for services decelerated to 2.6% YOY. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank’s measure of business confidence rose in December. China’s industrial profits increased 5.3% YOY in December versus being down 13.1% YOY in November.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly lower ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting scheduled to conclude tomorrow.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.1% higher at $60.68/barrel following supply concerns.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.2% higher at $5,067.88/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.