Opening Comment — Monday, August 24, 2026
DJIA: 53,277.01, up 517.80
S&P 500: 7,674.37, up 33.21
NASDAQ: 26,180.46, up 113.29
Stocks lower to start off week
Stock futures are lower Monday morning following a breakdown in U.S.-Canadian trade negotiations and as markets await details on additional U.S. economic measures against Iran. Investors will also be looking forward to comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh on Friday at the Jackson Hole Symposium, along with Wednesday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Deflator data, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.7% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Friday as the preliminary August readings of S&P Global’s composite and services Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs) exceeded expectations, rising to 56.8 and 56.0, respectively. In contrast, the manufacturing PMI unexpectedly eased to 53.2. The Dow was up 1.0%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. The S&P 500 increased 0.4% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 2.2%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.3%.
On the data front, the Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index for July is expected to come in at -0.05, down from the prior month’s -0.02.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading ahead of Germany’s second-quarter gross domestic product data, to be released tomorrow.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher ahead of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s August 11 meeting.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of U.S. PCE data on Wednesday.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.1% lower at $85.24/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.9% higher at $4,643.42/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.