Opening Comment — Wednesday, June 24, 2026
DJIA: 51,666.84, down 45.87
S&P 500: 7,365.46, down 107.33
NASDAQ: 25,587.04, down 579.56
Stocks mixed before memory company’s earnings
Stock futures are mixed Wednesday morning ahead of earnings from a major memory company, due after markets close today. Meanwhile, markets will be watching for today’s release of May new home sales and finalized building permits figures, along with the first quarter’s current account balance. Investors are also awaiting tomorrow’s May personal income, personal spending, and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) deflator data. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday as S&P Global’s preliminary June readings showed the services and composite purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) rising more than expected to 51.3 and 52.2, respectively, with the manufacturing measure unexpectedly climbing to 55.7. The Dow was down 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2%. The S&P 500 decreased 1.4% with five of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Consumer Staples sector was the top performer, rising 1.8%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 3.7%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Banker Association’s gauge of mortgage applications increased by 1.0% for the week ending June 19 versus the prior week’s decrease of 3.8%. The U.S. current account balance for the first quarter is expected to show a deficit of $208.9 billion, compared to the previous quarter’s deficit of $190.7 billion. Meanwhile, new home sales are projected to have been at an annualized 640,000 pace in May versus the prior month’s 622,000 pace. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 3.60 million barrels for the week ending June 19 versus the prior week’s decrease of 8.26 million barrels. The finalized reading for May building permits is anticipated to be revised higher to an annualized 1.418 million, compared to the preliminary estimate of 1.413 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as Germany’s Ifo Business Climate Index rose more than expected in June, climbing to 85.6. France’s retail sales declined by 0.3% year-over-year (YOY) in May.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Japan’s Services Producer Price Index increased an as expected 3.3% YOY in May, similar to the previous month’s upwardly revised increase. Australia's May Consumer Price Index showed a greater-than-projected decline of 0.7% month-over-month and unexpectedly eased to 4.0% YOY. South Korea’s retail sales and department store sales for May increased by 9.0% and 24.5% YOY, respectively.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher ahead of tomorrow’s U.S PCE deflator data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.9% lower at $71.85/barrel as markets continue assessing progress in normalizing global oil markets.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.5% lower at $4,057.34/ounce following a strengthening U.S. dollar.