Opening Comment — Tuesday, July 15, 2025
DJIA: 44,459.65, up 88.14
S&P 500: 6,268.56, up 8.81
NASDAQ: 20,640.33, up 54.80
Stocks higher ahead of CPI data
Stock futures are mostly higher Tuesday morning ahead of today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for June. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is up 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Monday as investors digested the recent updates on tariffs and trade negotiations. The Dow was up 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%. The S&P 500 increased 0.1% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 0.7%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.2%.
On the data front, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York will release July’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey, with the headline general business conditions index expected to come in at negative 9.2 from the prior month’s negative 16.0. The headline CPI for June is expected to show price increases of 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) and 2.6% year-over-year (YOY) versus the prior month’s increases of 0.1% and 2.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, core CPI is expected to show price increases of 0.3% MOM and 2.9% YOY, versus the prior month’s increases of 0.1% and 2.8%, respectively. Data on June’s average hourly and weekly earnings is also scheduled for release.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as the ZEW’s measures of expectations for economic growth for both the eurozone and Germany both rose in July. Meanwhile, the eurozone’s May industrial production increased more than expected, rising by 1.7% MOM and 3.7% YOY.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as China’s second quarter gross domestic product showed the economy growing 5.2% YOY and 1.1% quarter-over-quarter (QOQ), reflecting a mild deceleration from the previous quarter but beating expectations. The country’s retail sales for June registered a smaller-than-projected increase of 4.8% YOY. Meanwhile, Chinese industrial production for June increased more than forecasted, rising by 6.8% YOY. Westpac’s Consumer Confidence Index for Australia rose by 0.6% MOM in July.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is slightly lower ahead of today’s U.S. CPI data release.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.7% lower at $66.52/barrel following President Trump’s extended deadline for Russia easing concerns over supply constraints.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.4% higher at $3,372.00/ounce following a weakening dollar.