Opening Comment — Monday, April 28, 2025
DJIA: 40,113.50, up 20.10
S&P 500: 5,525.21, up 40.44
NASDAQ: 17,382.94, up 216.90
Stocks lower to start off week
Stock futures are lower Monday morning as investors are monitoring developments in U.S. trade discussions. Investors are also looking forward to this week’s key releases, including the advance reading of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), March’s personal consumption data, and the April jobs report. As of 7:16 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is also falling 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Friday as the finalized reading of April consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan was unexpectedly revised higher and the measure of one-year inflation expectations was revised lower, though were still lower and higher than the prior month’s readings, respectively. The Dow was up 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%. The S&P 500 increased 0.7% with five of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary sector was the top performer, rising 2.0%, while the Materials sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.7%.
On the data front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’s Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey for April will be released, with the general business activity index forecasted to come in at negative 14.1, up from the prior month’s negative 16.3.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as investors await this week’s readings on first-quarter GDPs and April Consumer Price Indexes from around the region.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s industrial profits showed an increase of 2.6% year-over-year in March. The country also announced measures to aid exporters hit by U.S. tariffs and denied the occurrence of trade talks.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is slightly higher ahead of a slew of central bank meetings taking place this week and next, beginning with the Bank of Japan on May 1.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.5% lower at $62.72/barrel following uncertainty over U.S. trade talks along with a possible supply increase from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+).
In the metals complex, gold is 1.5% lower at $3,282.40/ounce following a strengthening dollar.