Opening Comment — Wednesday, August 13, 2025
DJIA: 44,458.61, up 483.52
S&P 500: 6,445.76, up 72.31
NASDAQ: 21,681.90, up 296.50
Stocks higher following inflation data
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as investors continue assessing the potential path of Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts following yesterday’s inflation data. As of 7:16 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.3%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is also increasing 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Tuesday as the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) decelerated to 0.2% month-over-month (MOM) and registered a smaller-than-expected increase of 2.7% year-over-year (YOY) on a headline basis. Meanwhile, the core CPI (which excludes food and energy) accelerated to 0.3% MOM and 3.1% YOY. The federal budget deficit came in higher-than-expected for July. The Dow was up 1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4%. The S&P 500 increased 1.1% with all 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 1.8%, while the Consumer Staples sector was the bottom performer, rising just 0.2%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Banker Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 10.9% for the week ending August 8 versus the prior week’s increase of 3.1%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 912,000 barrels for the week ending August 8 versus the prior week’s decrease of 3.03 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s finalized July CPI came in as expected, unchanged from the prior reading of 2.0% YOY.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Japan’s Producer Price Index decelerated to 2.6% YOY and rose 0.2% MOM in July, marking a rebound from the previous month's deflation. Meanwhile, the country’s preliminary machine tool orders rose by 3.6% YOY for July. South Korea’s unemployment rate ticked down to 2.5% in July. Australia’s Wage Price Index rose 0.8% quarter-over-quarter and 3.4% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is lower as markets price in more Fed rate cuts.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.8% lower at $62.64/barrel despite an expected decline in U.S. crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.3% higher at $3,358.80/ounce following a weakening dollar.
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