Opening Comment — Wednesday, June 17, 2026
DJIA: 51,999.67, up 328.64
S&P 500: 7,511.35, down 42.94
NASDAQ: 26,376.34, down 307.60
Stocks higher ahead of Fed meeting
Stock futures are mostly higher Wednesday morning ahead of today’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, during which the Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged, though investors will analyze the updated Summary of Economic Projections and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s post-meeting press conference. Investors are also awaiting today’s key economic releases, including May retail sales, April business inventories, and May pending home sales data. As of 7:04 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Tuesday as import prices posted a stronger than anticipated increase in May, rising 1.9% month-over-month (MOM) and 6.7% year-over-year (YOY), while export prices also increased more than expected, climbing 1.3% MOM and 11.2% YOY. Meanwhile, U.S. housing starts for May fell to an annualized 1.18 million, while preliminary building permits came in at an annualized 1.41 million, marking a sharper-than-anticipated drop. The Dow was up 0.6% and reached a new record closing level of 51999.67, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.6% with four of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Financials sector was the top performer, rising 1.5%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.3%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications fell 3.8% for the week ending June 12 versus the prior week’s increase of 10.8%. Retail sales are expected to have risen 0.6% MOM in May versus the prior month’s increase of 0.5%, while retail sales excluding autos are forecasted to have risen 0.6% MOM versus the prior month’s 0.7%. Business inventories are expected to have risen 0.5% in April versus the prior month’s 0.9%. Pending home sales for May are expected to have increased 0.9% MOM versus the prior month’s increase of 1.4%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 3.00 million for the week ending June 12 versus the prior week’s decrease of 7.23 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in softer than expected in May, with headline inflation easing to 0.2% MOM and holding steady at 2.8% YOY, while core inflation rose to 2.6% YOY. Meanwhile, the country’s May Retail Price Index also came in cooler than projected. The eurozone’s finalized May CPI was unchanged from the initial reading, still showing headline inflation at 3.2% YOY and 0.1% MOM.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Japan posted a smaller-than-expected trade deficit in May following a stronger-than-anticipated increase in exports and weaker-than-expected increase in imports. The country’s April core machine orders reported greater-than-expected increases of 8.7% MOM and 15.6% YOY. Meanwhile, the Westpac Leading Index for Australia fell slightly in May.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher as investors await today’s Fed meeting.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.3% higher at $76.28/barrel ahead of an expected decline in crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is little changed at $4,331.44/ounce.