Opening Comment — Monday, April 27, 2026
DJIA: 49,230.71, down 79.61
S&P 500: 7,165.08, up 56.68
NASDAQ: 24,836.60, up 398.10
Stocks mixed to start off week
Stock futures are mixed Monday morning following a lack of progress in peace talks related to the Middle East conflict. Investors are looking forward to this week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting, while economic releases include the advance reading of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and March’s personal income, personal spending, and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) deflator data, all scheduled for Thursday. As of 7:16 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is flat. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Friday as the finalized April reading of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan was revised higher than expected, with one-year inflation expectations revised lower to 4.7% and five-to-ten-year inflation expectations revised higher to 3.5%. The Dow was down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.6% and hit a new record closing level of 24836.60. The S&P 500 increased 0.8% and set a new record closing level of 7165.08, with five of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 2.5%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.4%.
On the data front, the Dallas Fed’s Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey for April will be released, with the general business activity index expected to come in at 0.8, up from the prior month’s -0.2.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s consumer confidence declined more than expected in May.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s year-to-date industrial profits increased 15.5% year over year in March versus prior month’s increase of 15.2%. Meanwhile, finalized Japan’s composite leading index for February was revised slightly higher.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of this week’s Fed, Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, and Bank of England meetings.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.0% higher at $95.35/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is little changed at $4,709.99/ounce.