Opening Comment — Wednesday, March 25, 2026
DJIA: 46,124.06, down 84.41
S&P 500: 6,556.37, down 24.63
NASDAQ: 21,761.89, down 184.87
Stocks higher amid hope for war resolution
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as markets hope for a resolution to the Iran War following reports that the U.S. had sent Iran a proposed peace deal. Investors are looking forward to today’s releases of the fourth-quarter current account balance and February Import Price Index data. As of 7:21 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 0.9%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 1.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as S&P Global’s preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for March unexpectedly rose to 52.4, while the services and composite PMIs declined to 51.1 and 51.4, respectively. The Dow was down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.4% with four of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 2.1%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.5%.
On the data front, MBA mortgage applications for the week ending March 20 fell 10.5%. Import prices for February are forecasted to show increases of 0.6% month over month (MOM) and 0.4% year over year (YOY), compared to the prior month’s increase of 0.2% and decrease of 0.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, export prices are expected to show an increase of 0.6% MOM, similar to the prior month’s reading. The U.S. current account balance for the fourth quarter is expected to register a deficit of $208.5 billion versus the prior quarter’s deficit of $226.4 billion. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories for the week ending March 20 is expected to show a decrease of 1.25 million barrels versus the prior week’s increase of 6.16 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading following the U.K.’s headline and core Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February coming in at 3.0% and 3.2% YOY, respectively. Meanwhile, the country’s February Retail Price Index came in cooler than projected, showing an increase of 3.6% YOY. Germany’s March Ifo Business Climate Index fell to 86.4 from the previous month’s revised reading of 88.4.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were higher as Australia’s CPI slightly decelerated to 3.7% YOY. South Korea’s department store sales increased by 25.6% YOY in February. Meanwhile, Japan’s finalized composite leading index came in slightly lower and the country’s finalized February machine tool orders remained steady at 24.2% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly lower as investors await today’s import price data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 5.6% lower at $87.20/barrel ahead of an expected decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.9% higher at $4,559.73/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.