Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading in New York City.
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U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday night as investors looked ahead to the release of September’s consumer price index report.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded near the flatline. S&P 500 futures inched lower by 0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.04%.
The S&P 500 and Dow ended Wednesday’s session with fresh record closes. The broad market index rose 0.71%, also registering an all-time high during trading, while the 30-stock Dow jumped more than 400 points, or 1%. Big technology stocks were notable gainers in the rally, lifting the Nasdaq Composite to a 0.6% advance.
Investors will closely watch September’s CPI report due Thursday morning, looking for further signs that inflation is on a cooling trend. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate a 0.1% increase on a monthly basis, and a 2.3% advance over the prior 12 months.
The result will also inform the Federal Reserve’s next steps on policy at its November meeting. Fed funds futures trading data suggests a roughly 70% likelihood of a quarter-point cut, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Stephanie Roth, chief economist at Wolfe Research, thinks a 50 basis point cut is “off the table,” and the question is now whether the Fed will trim rates by 25 basis points or hold steady in November. “Base case for us is that they’re able to cut,” she said Wednesday on “Power Lunch.” “Tomorrow’s CPI should be supportive of that, something with core CPI coming in at 0.3%.” Economists polled by Dow Jones see core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rising by 0.2% on a monthly basis.
Other economic releases due on Thursday morning include weekly initial jobless claims.
Wall Street will also be looking toward Delta Air Lines‘ quarterly earnings release Thursday before the bell.
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