Opening Comment — Tuesday, January 06, 2026
DJIA: 48,977.18, up 594.79
S&P 500: 6,902.05, up 43.58
NASDAQ: 23,395.82, up 160.19
Stocks flat ahead of PMI data
Stock futures are little changed Tuesday morning ahead of today’s finalized December services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data from S&P Global. Investors are also looking ahead to this week’s labor market data, headlined by Friday’s December jobs report. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is flat. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Monday as markets digested news about the U.S.’s military actions in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI for December dropped to 47.9 and the prices paid component stayed at 58.5, both defying expectations of an uptick. The Dow was up 1.2% and reached a new record closing level of 48977.18, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%. The S&P 500 increased 0.6% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 2.7%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.2%.
On the data front, the finalized S&P Global Services PMI for December is expected to remain unchanged from the prior reading of 52.9, while the composite PMI will also be released today.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as the finalized December services PMIs for the eurozone, France, and the U.K. were revised lower from the preliminary readings, while Germany’s was revised higher, and all remained in expansionary territory. Meanwhile, France’s preliminary December Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1% month-over-month and 0.8% year-over-year (YOY), both coming in below projections.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as Australia’s finalized composite PMI for December eased to 51.0, whereas the services PMI posted a slight rise to 51.1. Meanwhile, Japan’s monetary base recorded a decline of 9.8% YOY in December.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of today’s U.S. PMI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.5% higher at $58.59/barrel as markets await further clarity on the future of Venezuela’s oil industry.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.3% higher at $4,461.98/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.