U.S. index futures are virtually flat in pre-market trading this Wednesday, with Wall Street awaiting April’s consumer price index data.
At 7:18 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) were up 3 points, or +0.01%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.03%, and Nasdaq-100 futures lost 0.02%. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.41%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude for June fell 0.53%, to $77.61 per barrel. Brent crude for July fell 0.56%, near $81.92 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange fell 1.55%, to $118.82 per metric ton.
On Wednesday’s economic agenda, the April consumer price index (CPI) reading will be released at 8:30 AM by the Department of Labor. The May Empire State manufacturing index will be released at the same time by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. April retail sales in the United States will also be released at 8:30 AM by the Department of Labor. At 10:00 AM, the May homebuilder confidence index will be released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo. The oil inventory position through last Friday will be published at 10:30 AM by the Department of Energy (DoE).
European markets are mixed today, with investors awaiting U.S. inflation data. Among individual stocks, ABN Amro (EU:ABN) fell 2.5% despite a 29% rise in first-quarter profits, while Commerzbank (TG:CBK) rose 3.4% after better-than-expected profits. Burberry (LSE:BRBY) fell 3.7% due to a challenging outlook. The UK’s FTSE 100 hit a record high of 8,474.41 points, driven by a 7.6% rise in Experian (LSE:EXPN).
Asia-Pacific stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday, reflecting investor caution ahead of new U.S. inflation data that could influence interest rate trajectories in the world’s largest economy. China’s Shanghai SE index fell 0.82%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose slightly by 0.08%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.22%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.11%. Australia’s ASX 200 also closed higher, posting a gain of 0.35%.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks fluctuated but mostly closed higher. The Dow Jones rose 0.32% to 39,558.11 points, the S&P 500 increased 0.48% to 5,246.68 points, and the Nasdaq advanced 0.75% to a record high of 16,511.18 points. The positive close came as Treasury yields fell after an initial rise, despite an unexpected increase in April producer prices.
The producer price index (PPI) for final demand rose 0.5% in April, after a revised decline of 0.1% in March. Economists had expected a 0.3% increase, compared to the originally reported 0.2% increase for March. Annually, producer price growth accelerated to 2.2% in April, from a downward revision of 1.8% in March. While the report raised uncertainty about interest rates, economists highlighted the March revisions as a positive sign.
Scheduled to report quarterly earnings before the market opens are Monday.com (NASDAQ:MNDY), Dynatrace (NYSE:DT), Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT), Dole (NYSE:DOLE), Cresco Labs (USOTC:CRLBF), Acurx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACXP), MakeMyTrip Limited (NASDAQ:MMYT), Seanergy (NASDAQ:SHIP), Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO), Bio-Path Holdings (NASDAQ:BPTH), among others.
After the close, reports are expected from Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB), Copa Airlines (NYSE:CPA), Inotiv (NASDAQ:NOTV), Maxeon (NASDAQ:MAXN), Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN), Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT), Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO), Kore Group Holdings (NYSE:KORE), Spero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SPRO), and more.