Opening Comment — Monday, March 23, 2026
DJIA: 45,577.47, down 443.96
S&P 500: 6,506.48, down 100.01
NASDAQ: 21,647.61, down 443.08
Stocks higher to start off week
Stock futures are higher Monday morning as President Donald Trump announced a postponement of strikes on energy targets, following earlier rhetoric from the U.S. and Iran regarding reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the potential for strikes on key infrastructure in the region. Investors are also looking forward to tomorrow’s preliminary reading of March purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs). As of 7:22 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 2.0%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 2.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Friday as markets evaluated escalations in the Iran War. The Dow was down 1.0%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.0%. The S&P 500 decreased 1.5% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Financials sector was the top performer, rising 0.2%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 4.1%.
On the data front, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index for February is expected to come in at 0.04, down from the prior month’s 0.18. Construction spending is projected to have increased 0.1% month-over-month in January, versus the prior month’s increase of 0.3%.
Across the pond, European stocks are lower in mid-day trading as investors await S&P Global’s preliminary manufacturing, services, and composite PMI readings for the U.K., eurozone, France, and Germany, due tomorrow.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were lower as South Korea’s exports and imports through the first 20 days of March increased 50.4% and 19.7% year-over-year, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher as investors await this week’s March PMI data, out tomorrow.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.4% higher at $98.63/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 5.1% lower at $4,263.95/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.