Opening Comment — Monday, December 29, 2025
DJIA: 48,710.97, down 20.19
S&P 500: 6,929.94, down 2.11
NASDAQ: 23,593.10, down 20.21
Stocks lower to start off week
Stock futures are mostly lower Monday morning ahead of the final trading days of the year as investors are looking forward to pending home sales data. As of 7:26 AM ET, the Dow is little changed, while the S&P 500 is down 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 0.4% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly unchanged on Friday during thin, post-holiday trading. The Dow was little changed, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%. The S&P 500 was little changed with four of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Materials sector was the top performer, rising 0.6%, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.4%.
On the data front, pending home sales for November are expected to have increased 1.0% month-over month versus the prior month’s increase of 1.9%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 2.00 million barrels for the week ending December 19 versus the prior week’s decrease of 1.27 million barrels. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’s Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey for December will be released, with the general business activity index expected to come in at negative 6.0, up from the prior month’s negative 10.4.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as President Donald Trump said negotiators are moving closer to a Ukraine peace agreement after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Florida resort, while acknowledging that significant challenges remain and offering no firm timeline for a resolution.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s industrial profits decreased 13.1% year-over-year (YOY) in November versus the prior month’s decrease of 5.5% YOY.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed ahead of tomorrow’s release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s December 10 meeting.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.2% higher at $57.99/barrel ahead of an expected decrease in reported crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.9% lower at $4,446.95/ounce.