Opening Comment — Wednesday, October 08, 2025
DJIA: 46,602.98, down 91.99
S&P 500: 6,714.59, down 25.69
NASDAQ: 22,788.36, down 153.31
Stocks higher ahead of Fed minutes
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as investors await the release of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) minutes from their September 17 meeting. Investors are also looking forward to a slew of Fed speakers and federal budget balance data. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is also increasing 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as consumer credit showed a significantly smaller-than-expected increase in August, expanding by $363 million compared to the upwardly revised increase of $18.05 billion in July. The New York Fed’s September 2025 Survey of Consumer Expectations showed a slight increase in one-year-ahead inflation expectations, with the measure rising to 3.38%. The Dow was down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.4% with six of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Consumer Staples sector was the top performer, rising 0.9%, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.4%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 4.7% for the week ending October 3 versus the prior week’s decrease of 12.7%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have increased by 350,000 barrels for the week ending October 3 versus the prior week’s increase of 1.79 million barrels. The U.S. federal budget balance for September is expected to show a surplus of $50.0 billion versus the prior month’s deficit of $344.8 billion.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s industrial production registered a greater-than-expected decrease of 4.3% month-over-month (MOM) and 3.9% year-over-year (YOY) in August.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as Japan’s labor cash earnings showed a smaller-than-forecasted increase of 1.5% YOY in August.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is higher as investors await additional color from the Fed’s most recent meeting with today’s release of the minutes.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.1% higher at $62.41/barrel despite an expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is reaching new highs this morning and is 1.3% higher at $4,035.66/ounce despite a strengthening dollar.
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