Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a higher opening this morning, with mega-cap and semiconductor stocks leading the early advance following yesterday's post-FOMC retreat.

Crude oil is moving lower for the second consecutive session, with WTI crude down $2.47 (-2.4%) to $99.96 per barrel. The decline comes as Axios reports that President Trump is expected to meet with Gulf leaders next week to discuss the next steps in the conflict with Iran.

Stocks finished mostly lower yesterday after an initially positive session reversed during Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference. The FOMC's widely anticipated 25-basis-point rate hike generated little immediate reaction, but stocks turned lower and Treasury yields rose as Mr. Warsh emphasized that inflation remains too high, reinforcing expectations that additional policy tightening could follow.

Today's remaining economic calendar:

• 8:30 AM ET: August Housing Starts; Briefing.com consensus 1325K; prior 1239K
• 8:30 AM ET: August Building Permits; Briefing.com consensus 1410K; prior 1443K
• 8:30 AM ET: 09/12 Initial Claims; Briefing.com consensus 209K; prior 206K
• 8:30 AM ET: 09/05 Continuing Claims; prior 1774K
• 8:30 AM ET: September Philadelphia Fed Index; Briefing.com consensus 35.0; prior 47.4
• 10:00 AM ET: August Pending Home Sales; Briefing.com consensus 0.5%; prior -2.3%
• 10:30 AM ET: 09/12 EIA Natural Gas Inventories; prior +40 bcf

In corporate news:

• Generac (GNRC 229.31, +54.20, +30.95%) entered a long-term supply agreement with Amazon (AMZN 249.12, +3.16, +1.28%) tied to up to $8 billion of generator purchases for Amazon data centers. Initial deliveries are expected to total $2.4 billion in 2027 and 2028, and Amazon received a warrant whose vesting is largely tied to aggregate payments.
• Salesforce (CRM 247.88, -2.66, -1.06%) said in its Investor Day presentation that it expects fiscal 2030 revenue of at least $63 billion.
• Snap (SNAP 5.88, +0.17, +2.98%) launched SPECS Intelligence, an anticipatory AI service with an iOS preview available in the U.S. and an invitation-only Mac experience.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Asia-Pacific equity markets had a mixed session. Japan's Nikkei: +0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -0.4%, China's Shanghai Composite: -0.4%, India's Sensex: UNCH, South Korea's Kospi: UNCH, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.4%.

In news:

• China's foreign minister called for the U.S. and Iran to exercise rationality after meeting with Iran's foreign minister, while Shanghai oil rose above $135 per barrel.
• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority followed the Fed's rate hike with a 25-basis-point increase to 4.25%.

In economic data:

• Hong Kong's August Unemployment Rate 3.8% (last 3.7%)
• Singapore's August trade surplus SGD13.78 bln (last surplus of SGD10.898 bln). August non-oil exports 10.9% m/m (last -0.3%); 46.2% yr/yr (expected 35.0%; last 24.1%)
• New Zealand's Q2 GDP 0.2% qtr/qtr (expected 0.1%; last 0.9%); 2.6% yr/yr (expected 2.3%; last 1.7%). Q2 GDP Expenditure 0.4% qtr/qtr (last 1.1%)

Major European markets trade higher, supported by a deeper pullback in oil prices and strength in technology stocks. STOXX Europe 600: +0.5%, Germany's DAX: +0.6%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.6%, France's CAC 40: +0.4%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.6%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.6%.

In news:

• The Bank of England voted 6-3 to keep its bank rate at 3.75%, although Governor Bailey said a rate hike is possible if the Iran conflict is prolonged.
• European Central Bank policymaker Makhlouf said second-round inflation effects are not being seen.
• Switzerland raised its 2026 growth forecast to 1.7% from 0.9% and maintained its 2027 forecast at 1.6%.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's August CPI 0.4% m/m (expected 2.9%; last 0.2%); 3.2% yr/yr (expected 3.3%; last 2.9%). August Core CPI 0.2% m/m, as expected (last 0.0%); 2.4% yr/yr, as expected (last 2.5%) Swiss August trade surplus CHF3.786 bln (last surplus of CHF5.742 bln)