Opening Comment — Wednesday, January 28, 2026
DJIA: 49,003.41, down 408.99
S&P 500: 6,978.60, up 28.37
NASDAQ: 23,817.10, up 215.74
Stocks higher ahead of Fed meeting
Stock futures are mostly higher Wednesday morning ahead of today’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusion and Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting press conference. As of 7:16 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is up 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.8% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Tuesday as January’s consumer confidence fell sharply to the lowest level since May 2014. Meanwhile measures of home prices rose more than expected in November. The Dow was down 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%. The S&P 500 increased 0.4% and set a new record closing level of 6978.60, with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 1.4%, while the Health Care sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.7%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 8.5% for the week ending January 23 versus the prior week’s increase of 14.1%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have increased by 1.95 million barrels for the week ending January 23 versus the prior week’s increase of 3.60 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as German consumer confidence improved more than expected.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Australia's fourth-quarter Consumer Price Index (CPI) decelerated as expected, rising 0.6% quarter-over-quarter, while the December CPI accelerated to 1.0% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year (YOY). South Korea’s retail sales rose 4.4% YOY in December.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed following significant declines over the past week, with markets interpreting a statement from U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday as supportive of a weaker dollar.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is little changed at $62.37/barrel ahead of today’s expected increase in reported U.S. crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.6% higher at $5,264.18/ounce.