Stock index futures edged higher on Thursday, as investors will now turn their attention to more inflation data and labor report.
S&P 500 futures (SPX) +0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures (US100:IND) +0.2% and Dow futures (INDU) +0.1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) rose 2 basis points to 3.68%. The 2-year yield (US2Y) rose 2 basis points to 3.68%.
Major U.S. equity averages finished higher in a fresh September session of big fluctuations, as investors seemingly set aside reduced odds of a large interest rate cut this month after the August core consumer price index came in above estimates.
“After a few weeks of the ball running around the edge of the hoop before deciding whether to go in or not, yesterday’s U.S. CPI report finally seems to have settled the 25bps vs 50bps debate for the Fed in favor of 25,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said.
The data suggests the Federal Reserve should be cutting at every meeting to catch up with inflation, but quarter-point cuts will suffice, UBS’ Paul Donovan said
Traders will now turn their focus to the August wholesale inflation, which is expected to land before the bell.
Economists on an average expect the August producer price index to come in at 0.1% on a monthly basis, and 1.8% annually.
Core PPI is forecasted to rise 0.2% month-on-month, and 2.5% year-on-year.
“Producer price inflation should be benign—fantasy pricing is generally excluded from this data,” Donovan said.
The initial jobless claims report is also anticipated to land at the same time, and is forecasted to come in at 227K.
“There are also the weekly initial jobless claims numbers. Unlike the employment report, these are accurate, as they measure reality not opinions, but jobless claims do not represent everything that is happening in the labor market,” Donovan added.
