Opening Comment — Monday, March 16, 2026
DJIA: 46,558.47, down 119.38
S&P 500: 6,632.19, down 40.43
NASDAQ: 22,105.36, down 206.62
Stocks higher to start off week
Stock futures are higher Monday morning as markets continue to assess developments in the Iran War and the U.S. led efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are awaiting this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting ending March 18, along with today’s economic releases, including December industrial production and the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for March. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.5%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.7%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.9% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Friday as the Personal Consumption Expenditures Deflator, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) preferred gauge of inflation, came in mostly as expected in January, with the headline measure rising 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) and 2.8% year-over-year (YOY), while the core measure increased 0.4% MOM and 3.1% YOY. Personal income rose a less than expected 0.4% MOM, while personal spending posted a greater-than-expected increase of 0.4% MOM in January. The second reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product was unexpectedly revised downward, with the economy growing at an annualized pace of 0.7%. Meanwhile, March’s preliminary consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan fell less than forecasted and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed higher-than-projected job openings in January. The Dow was down 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.6% with six of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Utilities sector was the top performer, rising 0.9%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.3%.
On the data front, the New York Fed will release March’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey, with the headline general business conditions index expected to come in at 3.9, down from the prior month’s 7.1. Industrial production is expected to have expanded by 0.1% MOM in February, compared to the prior month’s increase of 0.7%, while capacity utilization is forecasted to remain steady at 76.2%. The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Market Index is forecasted to increase slightly to 37.0 in March from the prior reading of 36.0.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as Rightmove’s measure of British house prices for March increased by 0.8% MOM and decreased by 0.2% YOY.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s retail sales and industrial production rose 2.8% and 6.3% YOY during the first two months of the year, while the country’s surveyed jobless rate for February came in at 5.3%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of this week’s FOMC meeting.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.5% lower at $97.28/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.5% lower at $4,996.03/ounce despite a weakening U.S. dollar.