Opening Comment — Thursday, March 05, 2026
DJIA: 48,739.41, up 238.14
S&P 500: 6,869.50, up 52.87
NASDAQ: 22,807.48, up 290.79
Stocks lower ahead of import price data
Stock futures are lower Thursday morning as investors continue to assess developments in the conflict in the Middle East and ahead of today’s economic releases, including data on unemployment claims, import prices, and the preliminary fourth-quarter nonfarm productivity growth and unit labor costs. As of 7:15 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.3%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is also falling 0.1% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Wednesday as the ADP Employment Change Report showed private nonfarm payroll gains for February coming in higher than anticipated. The Institute for Supply Management’s services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for February increased to 56.1, defying expectations of a decline, while the prices paid component registered an unexpected drop. Meanwhile, S&P Global’s finalized services and composite PMIs for February were both revised slightly downward to 51.7 and 51.9, respectively. The Dow was up 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%. The S&P 500 increased 0.8% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary sector was the top performer, rising 2.2%, while the Energy sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.7%.
On the data front, the Challenger Report on job cuts for February will be released today. The January Import Price Index is projected to have increased 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) and 0.1% year-over-year (YOY), versus the prior month’s 0.1% and little change, respectively. Meanwhile, the Export Price Index is forecasted to have increased 0.2% MOM, easing from the prior month’s 0.3%. The preliminary reading of fourth-quarter nonfarm productivity is expected to show an increase of 1.9% quarter-over-quarter, versus the prior quarter’s increase of 4.9%, while unit labor costs are forecasted to have increased at an annualized 2.0% pace, following a 1.9% decline in the prior quarter. Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 28 are expected to come in at 215,000, higher than the prior week’s 212,000, while continuing claims are expected to come in at 1.85 million for the week ending February 21, slightly up from the prior week’s 1.83 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as France’s industrial production registered greater-than-expected increases of 0.5% MOM and 2.4% YOY in January, while manufacturing production rose 0.6% MOM and 2.7% YOY. The British and German construction PMIs for February dropped to 44.5 and 43.7, respectively. The eurozone’s retail sales for January experienced an unexpected decline, falling by 0.1% MOM, but recorded a larger-than-expected increase of 2.0% YOY.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were higher as Australia’s trade surplus unexpectedly narrowed in January, as exports decreased 0.9% MOM and imports increased 0.8% MOM. Meanwhile, the country’s household spending for January rose 0.3% MOM and 4.6% YOY, both falling short of expectations.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is higher as investors await today’s U.S. economic data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.9% higher at $76.81/barrel following disruptions to production and shipping.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.4% higher at $5,162.03/ounce despite a strengthening U.S. dollar.