Opening Comment — Wednesday, October 21, 2026
DJIA: 52,495.88, up 529.85
S&P 500: 7,712.57, up 21.84
NASDAQ: 26,424.82, down 6.07
Stocks higher following earnings reports
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as investors digested yesterday’s earnings reports from two major artificial intelligence companies and await further mega-cap companies’ earnings reports after markets close today. As of 7:40 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mostly higher on Tuesday as September housing market data showed slowdowns in housing starts, building permits, and pending home sales, with the latter falling by a greater-than-expected 7.3% month-over-month (MOM). The Dow was up 1.0%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was little changed. The S&P 500 increased 0.3% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Health Care sector was the top performer, rising 2.3%, while the Communication Services sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.9%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications for the week ending October 16 fell 5.3%, compared to the prior week’s decline of 2.7%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to decline by 340,000 barrels for the week ending October 16 versus the prior week’s decline of 8.56 million barrels..
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s September Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% MOM and 3.5% year-over-year (YOY), while the country’s Retail Price Index rose 0.1% MOM and 3.9% YOY. Meanwhile, France’s August retail sales rose by 0.3% MOM.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as Japan’s September trade deficit narrowed less-than-expected as imports rose 16.7% YOY and exports increased 18.9% YOY. South Korea’s trade data for the first 20 days of October showed a 42.8% increase in imports YOY and a 105.4% rise in exports YOY. Meanwhile, the country’s Producer Price Index for September showed a 7.7% YOY gain.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is little changed as markets prepare for next week’s slew of central bank meetings, with the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and Bank of Japan all making policy decisions.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.0% higher at $99.77/barrel and Brent crude oil is up 1.7% at $110.63/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is little changed at $4,126.56/ounce.