Opening Comment — Thursday, March 19, 2026
DJIA: 46,225.15, down 768.11
S&P 500: 6,624.70, down 91.39
NASDAQ: 22,152.42, down 327.11
Stocks lower before unemployment claims
Stock futures are lower Thursday morning ahead of today’s weekly unemployment claims data, February’s Leading Index, and January’s new home sales data. Investors are also continuing to assess development in the Iran War, including attacks on energy facilities. As of 7:12 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.4% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Wednesday as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 11–1 to keep the federal funds target range unchanged at 3.5%–3.75%. In his post-meeting press conference, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell noted that policymakers still expect inflation to ease, though not as quickly as previously hoped. The updated Summary of Economic Projections showed the Fed continues to expect one rate cut this year. Meanwhile, the February Producer Price Index (PPI) came in hotter than expected, with headline and core prices increasing 0.7% and 0.5% month over month (MOM), respectively, and the year over year (YOY) rates accelerating to 3.4% and 3.9%, respectively. The Dow was down 1.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%. The S&P 500 decreased 1.4% with all 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, falling just 0.2%, while the Consumer Staples sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.4%.
On the data front, initial jobless claims for the week ending March 14 are expected to come in at 215,000, higher than the prior week’s 213,000, while continuing claims are expected to rise slightly to 1.852 million for the week ending March 7 from the prior week’s 1.850 million. The Philadelphia Fed will release their March Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey, with the diffusion index of current general activity forecasted to fall to 8.0 from the prior month’s 16.3. The Leading Index for February is forecasted to show a decline of 0.1%, versus the prior month’s decrease of 0.2%. Meanwhile, new home sales are projected to have been at an annualized 722,000 pace in January versus the prior month’s 745,000 pace, corresponding to a 2.7% MOM decrease versus the prior month’s decrease of 1.7%. The finalized January reading of wholesale inventories is expected to show an increase of 0.2% MOM, similar to the preliminary reading. The Fed’s measure of the household change in net worth for the fourth quarter is scheduled for release. The finalized reading for January building permits is anticipated to be revised higher to an annualized 1.380 million, compared to the preliminary estimate of 1.376 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s unemployment rate remained steady at 5.2% and average weekly earnings increased in line with expectations in January. Meanwhile, the country’s jobless claims decreased, whereas the claimant count rate edged up in February compared with January’s downwardly revised reading.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were lower as the Bank of Japan held its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.75%, maintaining its cautious stance amid persistent inflation. Japan’s core machinery orders posted a smaller than expected decline of 5.5% MOM in January, alongside a stronger than anticipated increase of 13.7% YOY. The country’s capacity utilization increased by 2.9% MOM in January, while the finalized January industrial production was revised up to 4.3% MOM but revised down to 0.7% YOY. Australia’s February employment change came in higher than projected, even as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% following the country’s labor force participation rate increasing to 66.9%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed as investors digest the recent central bank meetings.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.5% higher at $96.84/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 3.1% lower at $4,668.83/ounce.