Opening Comment — Tuesday, March 17, 2026
DJIA: 46,946.41, up 387.94
S&P 500: 6,699.38, up 67.19
NASDAQ: 22,374.18, up 268.82
Stocks lower before pending home sales data
Stock futures are lower Tuesday morning as markets continue to evaluate the latest developments in the Iran War. Investors are awaiting tomorrow’s conclusion of the March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, along with today’s February pending home sales report. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Monday as industrial production increased more than expected in February, and capacity utilization held steady at 76.3% following an upward revision to the prior month’s figure. The Empire State Manufacturing Index declined significantly more than expected in March. Meanwhile, homebuilder sentiment came in higher than forecasted. The Dow was up 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2%. The S&P 500 increased 1.0% with all 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 1.4%, while the Consumer Staples sector was the bottom performer, rising just 0.1%.
On the data front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will release its Business Leaders Survey for March, with the headline diffusion index expected to improve to -20 from -25.7 in the prior month. Pending home sales for February are expected to have decreased 0.6% month-over-month (MOM) and 4.5% year-over-year (YOY), versus the prior month’s decreases of 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the ZEW measures of economic growth expectations declined significantly for the eurozone and Germany in March.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate to 4.10% at its meeting today. South Korea’s Export Price Index registered increases of 2.1% MOM and 10.7% YOY in February, while the Import Price Index rose by 1.1% MOM and 1.2% YOY. Japan’s Tertiary (service) Industry Index showed a greater than expected increase of 1.7% MOM in January, compared to prior month’s revised decrease of 0.8%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher as investors await policy decisions from the Federal Reserve and the central banks of the eurozone, England, Japan, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland, all due this week.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 3.1% higher at $96.38/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% lower at $5,000.67/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.