Opening Comment — Wednesday, August 05, 2026
DJIA: 54,085.88, up 907.47
S&P 500: 7,736.52, up 136.02
NASDAQ: 26,584.99, up 671.09
Stocks higher before ADP and PMI data
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning amid optimism that a U.S.-Iran deal will be reached and as investors evaluate the latest earnings releases. Market participants are also awaiting today’s economic releases, including July’s ADP National Employment Report, along with July services purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). As of 7:19 AM ET, the Dow and the S&P 500 Index are both rising 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Tuesday as the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed job openings falling more than expected to 7.36 million in June. June's trade deficit narrowed less than expected to $73.3 billion as both imports and exports registered smaller-than-expected declines, falling 1.8% and 0.9% month-over-month (MOM), respectively. Meanwhile, factory orders unexpectedly declined 0.3% MOM in June. The Dow was up 1.7% and reached a new record closing level of 54085.88, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 2.6%. The S&P 500 increased 1.8% and set a new record closing level of 7736.52, with six of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector was the top performer, rising 4.1%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.6%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications decreased by 2.9% for the week ending July 31 versus the prior week’s decrease of 6.4%. The ADP National Employment Report for July is expected to show private job gains of 65,000, versus the prior month’s 98,000. S&P Global’s finalized services PMI for July is expected to remain unchanged at 53.6. Meanwhile, ISM’s July services PMI and the prices paid component are expected to register 54.5 and 65.0, respectively, versus the prior month’s 54.0 and 67.7, respectively. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 1.50 million barrels for the week ending July 31 versus the prior week’s decrease of 7.17 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as France’s June industrial production showed a smaller than projected increase of 0.1% MOM and an unexpected decrease of 0.1% year-over-year (YOY). The eurozone’s Producer Price Index declined 0.3% MOM and eased to 4.6% YOY in June, in line with expectations. The finalized July S&P Global services PMIs for the eurozone, the U.K., and Germany were revised up to 51.7, 52.1, and 49.8, respectively, while the corresponding composite PMIs were also revised higher to 52.0, 52.2, and 51.3, respectively. Meanwhile, the finalized July S&P Global services and composite PMIs for France were revised down to 49.6 and 49.4, respectively.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as China’s private services and composite PMIs from RatingDog for July declined to 50.4 and 50.8, respectively. Japan’s labor cash earnings rose 3.4% YOY in June, matching expectations. The country’s finalized July S&P Global services and composite PMIs were both revised lower to 51.2 and 52.7, respectively. Additionally, Australia’s finalized July S&P Global services and composite PMIs were revised higher to 53.6 and 53.2, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed ahead of U.S. ADP and PMI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.8% higher at $76.38/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 2.0% higher at $4,161.15/ounce.