Opening Comment — Wednesday, June 03, 2026
DJIA: 51,307.79, up 228.91
S&P 500: 7,609.78, up 9.82
NASDAQ: 27,093.90, up 7.09
Stocks mixed before ADP and PMI data
Stock futures are mixed Wednesday morning as markets evaluate the latest strikes between the U.S. and Iran. Meanwhile, investors are looking forward to today’s May services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data, measure of May employment, and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) Beige Book. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.3%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.2% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly higher on Tuesday as the April Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed job openings unexpectedly rising to 7.62 million from an upwardly revised 6.89 million in April. The Dow was up 0.5% and reached a new record closing level of 51307.79, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was little changed and hit a new record closing level of 27093.90. The S&P 500 increased 0.1% and set a new record closing level of 7609.78, with seven of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Utilities sector was the top performer, rising 1.9%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.6%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications fell 2.5% for the week ending May 29 versus the prior week’s decrease of 8.5%. The Automatic Data Processing National Employment Report for May is expected to show private job gains of 120,000, versus the prior month’s 109,000. The finalized S&P Global services PMI for May is projected to come in at 51.0 from the preliminary reading of 50.9, while the composite PMI is expected to remain unchanged from the preliminary reading of 51.7. The Institute for Supply Management’s May services PMI and the prices paid component are expected to register 53.8 and 72.3, respectively, versus the prior month’s 53.6 and 70.7, respectively. April’s factory orders are expected to have increased 4.6% month-over-month (MOM) versus the prior month’s increase of 1.5%. April’s finalized durable goods orders are expected to show an increase of 7.9% MOM, unchanged from the preliminary reading. The Department of Energy’s reading of crude oil inventories is expected to show a decrease of 3.05 million barrels for the week ending May 29, versus the prior week’s decline of 3.33 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s Producer Price Index eased to 0.6% MOM in April and accelerated to 4.9% year-over-year (YOY), both matching expectations. The finalized May services PMIs from S&P Global for the eurozone, the U.K., Germany, and France were revised upward to 47.7, 49.3, 48.1, and 44.3, respectively, while their composite PMIs were also revised higher to 48.5, 49.7, 48.8, and 44.9, respectively.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as China’s private May services and composite PMIs increased to 54.4 and 54.0, respectively. Australia’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) showed weaker-than-expected growth, rising 0.3% quarter-over-quarter and 2.5% YOY. The country’s private sector credit expanded by 0.7% MOM and 8.0% YOY in April. Meanwhile, Australia’s final May services and composite PMIs were both revised upward to 48.7, while Japan’s finalized services and composite PMIs remained unchanged at 50.0 and 51.1, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is slightly higher ahead of today’s U.S. labor market update.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.8% higher at $96.40/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.6% lower at $4,460.71/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.