Opening Comment — Friday, April 24, 2026
DJIA: 49,310.32, down 179.71
S&P 500: 7,108.40, down 29.50
NASDAQ: 24,438.50, down 219.07
Stocks higher to end out week
Stock futures are mostly higher Friday morning following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a three week ceasefire extension between Israel and Lebanon. Investors are looking forward to today’s finalized April reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan. As of 7:14 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is up 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 1.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Thursday as S&P Global’s preliminary April readings for both the manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) increased more than anticipated to 54.0 and 51.3 respectively. Meanwhile, both initial jobless claims and continuing claims picked up. The Dow was down 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.4% with six of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Utilities sector was the top performer, rising 2.8%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.5%.
Technical Analysis:
As of midday Thursday, the S&P 500 Index is still in an uptrend, with resistance difficult to pinpoint, while support is expected near the 50 day and 200 day moving averages at 6,785 and 6,701, respectively.
On the data front, the finalized April reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan is expected to come in at 48.5 versus the initial reading of 47.6, while one-year and 5-10-year inflation expectations are expected to come in at 4.8% and 3.4%, respectively, similar to the initial readings. The Kansas City Federal Reserve (Fed) will release their Services Survey for April, with the composite index expected to come in at 10, down from the prior month’s 15.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as British retail sales registered a stronger-than-projected increase in March, rising by 0.7% month-over-month (MOM) and 1.7% year-over-year (YOY). Germany’s Ifo Business Climate Index declined more than expected in April, falling to 84.4. Meanwhile, consumer confidence for France fell in April.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Japan’s national Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated more than expected in March, with the headline reading rising to 1.5% YOY. However, the core CPI eased to 2.4% YOY, in line with projections. The country’s Services Producer Price Index accelerated to 3.1% YOY in March from the prior month’s 2.7%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly lower ahead of next week’s Fed, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, and Bank of England meetings.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.5% higher at $97.29/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.3% lower at $4,679.65/ounce despite a weakening U.S. dollar.