Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday night as investors awaited the release of the September Consumer Price Index report.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded nearly flat. S&P 500 futures fell 0.05% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.07%.
The S&P 500 and Dow ended Wednesday at record highs. The broad market index rose 0.71%, also the highest in trading, and the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 400 points, or 1%. The rally was dominated by big tech stocks, pushing the Nasdaq Composite Index up 0.6%.
Investors will be watching the September CPI report on Thursday morning for further signs that inflation is cooling. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast a 0.1% increase from the previous month and a 2.3% increase from the previous 12 months.
The results will also influence the Fed’s next policy steps at its November meeting. Federal funds futures trading data suggests the chance of a quarter-point rate cut is about 70%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Stephanie Ross, chief economist at Wolf Research, said a 50 basis point rate cut is “off the table,” and the question is whether the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in November or leave them unchanged. “They can be cut,” she said on Wednesday’s “Power Lunch.” “Tomorrow’s CPI should be supportive, with core CPI at 0.3%.” Economists polled by Dow Jones expect core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, to rise 0.2%.
Other economic announcements scheduled for Thursday morning include the weekly number of new jobless claims.
Wall Street will also be watching Delta Air Lines’ quarterly results, which will be released Thursday before the bell.
