Opening Comment — Tuesday, October 13, 2026
DJIA: 51,850.55, up 195.60
S&P 500: 7,807.24, down 4.30
NASDAQ: 27,245.90, down 120.27
Stocks mixed ahead of housing data
Stock futures are mixed Tuesday morning as investors turn their attention to today’s economic releases, including September existing home sales and federal budget balance data. Meanwhile, a reading of small business optimism decreased more than expected in September. As of 7:21 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.4%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.7% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Monday as investors looked forward to this week’s earnings releases and key inflation data, including the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday and the Producer Price Index (PPI) on Thursday. The Dow was up 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.1% with three of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.5%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.9%.
On the data front, the National Federation of Independent Business’s gauge of small business optimism declined to 97.9 in September from the prior month’s 98.7. Existing home sales are forecasted to have been at an annualized 3.95 million pace in September versus the prior month’s 3.98 million pace. The U.S. federal budget balance for September is expected to show a deficit of $30.0 billion versus the prior month’s deficit of $166.8 billion.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC’s) measure of like-for-like sales showed stronger-than-expected growth of 1.0% year-over-year (YOY) in September. The finalized September German CPI came in at 0.6% month-over-month (MOM) and 3.3% YOY, unchanged from the preliminary readings.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as National Australia Bank’s (NAB’s) reading of Australian business confidence fell to -13 in September from a downwardly revised -9 in the prior month. Japan’s PPI unexpectedly fell 0.3% MOM and eased to 6.8% YOY in September.
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 2.0% lower at $91.86/barrel and Brent crude oil is down 1.9% at $104.60/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.2% higher at $4,181.11/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.