Opening Comment — Tuesday, September 08, 2026
DJIA: 53,414.25, down 271.86
S&P 500: 7,718.60, down 29.11
NASDAQ: 26,506.99, down 77.07
Stocks lower to start off week
Stock futures are mostly lower Tuesday morning amid rising escalations in the Middle East conflict over the holiday weekend. Meanwhile, investors are evaluating the latest developments in trade policy between the U.S. and Canada, with a slew of Canadian tariffs on U.S. imports going into effect overnight. Markets will also be looking forward to this week’s release of August Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index data on Thursday and Friday, respectively. As of 7:16 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.8%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is little changed relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Friday as Federal Reserve rate hike expectations rose following August’s nonfarm payrolls increasing by a greater-than-expected 162,000, along with upward revisions to the prior month's data. Average hourly earnings came in as expected, increasing by 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) and 3.1% year-over-year (YOY). The unemployment rate remained stable at 4.1% and the labor force participation rate increased to 61.6%. The Dow was down 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.4% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Industrials sector was the top performer, rising 0.4%, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.3%.
On the data front, the National Federation of Independent Business’s gauge of small business optimism fell more than projected to 98.7 in August. Meanwhile, consumer credit is expected to have expanded by $11.67 billion in July, lower than the prior month’s increase of $14.17 billion.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading ahead of the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday, during which a 25-basis point (0.25%) rate hike is widely expected. France’s trade deficit and current account deficit both widened in July. Meanwhile, Germany’s trade surplus widened more than expected in July as imports declined significantly more than projected. Yesterday’s economic data showed the eurozone’s second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) being revised slightly higher and Germany’s industrial production unexpectedly declining in July.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as South Korea’s preliminary reading of second-quarter GDP showed growth of 0.6% quarter-over-quarter and 3.7% YOY, meeting expectations. Westpac’s Consumer Confidence Index for Australia declined by 5.2% MOM in September and National Australia Bank’s Business Confidence Index fell in August. Japan’s finalized second-quarter GDP growth was revised upward to an annualized 1.4% pace and labor cash earnings rose more than expected by 4.7% YOY in July. Meanwhile, China’s trade surplus for August came in near forecasts as both exports and imports expanded less than projected.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of this week’s U.S. inflation data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.8% higher at $94.00/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% lower at $4,398.53/ounce despite a weakening U.S. dollar.