Opening Comment — Monday, February 23, 2026
DJIA: 49,625.97, up 230.81
S&P 500: 6,909.51, up 47.62
NASDAQ: 22,886.07, up 203.34
Stocks lower to start off week
Stock futures are lower Monday morning as investors evaluated President Donald Trump’s new global 15% tariff following the Supreme Court striking down many of his previous tariff measures on Friday. As of 7:20 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both decreasing 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Friday as the Personal Consumption Expenditures Deflator, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) preferred gauge of inflation, came in hotter-than-forecasted in December, with the headline measure rising 0.4% month-over-month (MOM) and 2.9% year-over-year (YOY), while the core measure increased 0.4% MOM and 3.0% YOY. Personal income rose by an as-expected 0.3% MOM, while personal spending posted a greater-than-expected increase of 0.4% MOM in December. The advance reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in weaker-than-projected, with the economy growing at an annualized pace of 1.4%, while consumer spending growth met forecasts with a 2.4% annualized gain. Meanwhile, S&P Global’s preliminary February readings for the manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) fell to 51.2 and 52.3, respectively. The Dow was up 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%. The S&P 500 increased 0.7% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 2.7%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.7%.
On the data front, the Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index for January is expected to come in at negative 0.08, down from the prior month’s negative 0.04. December’s factory orders are expected to have decreased 0.6% MOM versus the prior month’s increase of 2.7%. December’s finalized durable goods orders are expected to show a decrease of 1.4% MOM, unchanged from the preliminary reading. The Dallas Fed’s Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey for February will be released, with the general business activity index expected to come in at negative 0.8, up from the prior month’s negative 1.2.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s Ifo Business Climate Index rose more than expected in February, rising to 88.6 from the previous month’s reading of 87.6.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as South Korea’s exports and imports through the first 20 days of February increased 23.5% and 11.7% year-over-year, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed following the recent tariff updates.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is little changed at $66.46/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.9% higher at $5,152.72/ounce.