U.S. stock futures are little changed as investors brace for key consumer inflation report: Live updates
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 10, 2025 in New York City.
NYSE
Stock futures hovered near the flatline on Wednesday morning as traders looked ahead to the release of December’s consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 futures were marginally up, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.12%.
In the regular session, the blue-chip Dow gained 221.16 points, or 0.52%, while the S&P 500 added 0.11%. On the other hand, a pullback in tech names weighed on the Nasdaq Composite, which fell 0.23%.
The moves came after December’s wholesale inflation report came in lighter than expected. The producer price index added just 0.2%, less than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for a 0.4% increase.
Following this data release, investors now turn their attention to December’s consumer price index reading, which will be out at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Economists polled by Dow Jones see headline CPI rising 0.3% on a monthly basis and gaining 2.9% over the prior 12 months. The inflation reading will be a consideration for the Federal Reserve as it makes its interest rate decision later this month.
Fourth-quarter earnings season also kicks off in earnest this week, with a slew of big financial services companies due to report their earnings. BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup will post results before Wednesday’s opening bell.
“We do think earnings will be stronger,” said Jay Hatfield, founder of Infrastructure Capital Advisors. “The economy is strong in the fourth quarter. Usually, companies learn if they have a problem by then, and they’re probably going to be pretty optimistic about the future because the Trump administration is pro-business. So we think that most CEOs are pretty optimistic about the forecast for 2025.”
