Opening Comment — Friday, May 15, 2026
DJIA: 50,063.46, up 370.26
S&P 500: 7,501.24, up 56.99
NASDAQ: 26,635.22, up 232.88
Stocks lower to end out week
Stock futures are lower Friday morning following a rise in yields, oil prices, and inflationary concerns. Investors are also looking forward to today’s economic releases, including April’s industrial production and May’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey. As of 7:14 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.5%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.9%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 1.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Thursday as retail sales for April increased 0.5% month-over-month (MOM). Import prices posted a stronger than anticipated increase in April, rising 1.9% MOM and 4.2% year-over-year (YOY), while export prices also increased more than expected, climbing 3.3% MOM and 8.8% YOY. Initial claims for unemployment rose more than expected, alongside a higher-than-expected increase in continuing claims for the prior week. The Dow was up 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% and hit a new record closing level of 26635.22. The S&P 500 increased 0.8% and set a new record closing level of 7501.24, with six of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 1.9%, while the Materials sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.8%.
Technical Analysis:
As of midday Thursday, the trend for the S&P 500 is still higher. Resistance is hard to pinpoint, and support is at the 50-day and 200-day moving averages of 6,910 and 6,775, respectively.
On the data front, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York will release their Empire State Manufacturing Survey for May, with the headline general business conditions index expected to fall to 7.2 from the prior month’s 11.0. Industrial production is forecasted to have grown 0.3% MOM in April versus the prior month’s 0.5% decline, while capacity utilization is projected to have risen to 75.8% from the prior month’s 75.7%.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a leadership crisis amid anger within the Labour Party.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were lower as South Korea’s Export Price Index registered increases of 7.1% MOM and 40.8% YOY in April, while the Import Price Index decreased by 2.3% MOM and increased by 20.2% YOY. Japan’s Producer Price Index accelerated to 2.3% MOM and 4.9% YOY in April, up from the prior month’s upwardly revised gains of 1.0% and 2.9%. The country’s machine tool orders increased by 45.1% YOY preliminarily in April.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher following broader market volatility.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 3.4% higher at $104.58/barrel following news that China will be buying oil from the U.S.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.8% lower at $4,569.72/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.