Opening Comment — Wednesday, March 04, 2026
DJIA: 48,501.27, down 403.51
S&P 500: 6,816.63, down 64.99
NASDAQ: 22,516.69, down 232.17
Stocks higher ahead of PMI data
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning ahead of today’s February ADP Employment Report, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM’s) February services purchasing managers’ index (PMI), and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) Beige Book survey of regional economic conditions. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as markets continued assessing developments in the fighting in the Middle East. The Dow was down 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.0%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.9% with all 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Financials sector was the top performer, falling just 0.2%, while the Materials sector was the bottom performer, falling 2.7%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 11.0% for the week ending February 27 versus the prior week’s increase of 0.4%. The ADP Employment Report for February is expected to show private nonfarm job gains of 50,000, versus the prior month’s 22,000. S&P Global’s finalized services and composite PMIs for February are both expected to come in at 52.3, both unchanged from the preliminary readings. Meanwhile, ISM’s February services PMI and the prices paid component are expected to register 53.5 and 68.3, respectively, versus the prior month’s 53.8 and 66.6, respectively. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have increased by 3.00 million barrels for the week ending February 27 versus the prior week’s increase of 15.99 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the eurozone’s Producer Price Index for January registered a greater-than-expected increase of 0.7% month-over-month (MOM) and lower-than-expected deflation of 2.1% year-over-year (YOY). The region’s unemployment rate was reported at 6.1% for January, down from an upwardly revised 6.3% in the previous month.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were lower, with South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi falling over 10%. Meanwhile, the country’s industrial production for January unexpectedly declined, falling by 1.9% MOM but showing a larger-than-expected increase of 7.1% YOY. Australia’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy growing 0.8% quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) and 2.6% YOY, reflecting an acceleration from the previous quarter. China’s official February manufacturing PMI fell to 49.0, while the non manufacturing PMI edged up to 49.5. Meanwhile, the country’s private-sector February manufacturing and services PMIs rose to 52.1 and 56.7, respectively. Japan’s consumer confidence index rose in February.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower ahead of today’s U.S. PMI data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.7% higher at $75.08/barrel despite an expected increase in crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is 2.1% higher at $5,193.42/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.