Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading, July 18, 2023.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Stock futures are near flat Monday night ahead of a closely watched inflation report due before the bell on Tuesday.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 5 points, trading near flat. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also both traded near their flatlines.
The moves come as investors ready for the October consumer price index reading slated for release Tuesday morning. Investors will parse the report for insights into the path of inflation that can inform expectations for how, or if, the Federal Reserve will adjust interest rates going forward.
Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate the index will show an increase of 0.1% from the prior month and 3.3% on an annualized basis. Excluding more volatile food and energy prices, the so-called core index is forecasted to rise 0.3% month over month and 4.1% year over year.
“A hot CPI report may call into question investors’ belief the Fed is done hiking rates,” said Bill Merz, head of capital market research at U.S. Bank Asset Management. On the other hand, “a figure coming in lower than expected could solidify those expectations for now.”
Monday marked a mixed start to the week for the three major indexes as investors geared up for the report. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished down by about 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. The Dow diverged, posting a gain of nearly 0.2%.
On the economics front, investors will also watch for small business data in the morning and for remarks throughout the day from a slate of Fed officials. Elsewhere, traders will look for Home Depot‘s earnings report before the bell.
Read the full article here