Opening Comment — Monday, May 18, 2026
DJIA: 49,526.17, down 537.29
S&P 500: 7,408.50, down 92.74
NASDAQ: 26,225.14, down 410.08
Stocks lower to start off week
Stock futures are lower Monday morning ahead of this week’s major earnings releases, the Federal Open Market Committee’s most recent minutes on Wednesday, and Thursday’s preliminary May purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs). As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.7%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.5%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.4% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Friday as futures markets priced in the possibility of a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike this year following heightened inflation concerns. Meanwhile, industrial production exceeded expectations in April, rising 0.7% month-over-month (MOM), while capacity utilization increased to 76.1%. The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey headline general business conditions index unexpectedly rose to 19.6 in May. The Dow was down 1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%. The S&P 500 decreased 1.2% with 10 of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 2.3%, while the Materials sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.7%.
On the data front, the New York Fed will release their Business Leaders Survey for May. The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Market Index is forecasted to come in at 34 for May, unchanged from the prior month.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as Rightmove’s measure of British house prices for May increased by 1.2% MOM and decreased by 0.3% year-over-year (YOY).
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s industrial production for April registered a smaller-than-expected increase of 4.1% YOY. Meanwhile, the country’s retail sales for April also came in weaker than expected, rising by 0.2% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly lower ahead of the release of PMI readings around the world later this week.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.9% higher at $106.32/barrel amid renewed warnings from President Trump calling on Iran to finalize an agreement promptly.
In the metals complex, gold is little changed at $4,539.46/ounce.