U.S. stock futures indicate a largely flat open on Thursday, suggesting limited direction for markets as traders weigh recent economic releases.
Earlier, futures had hinted at a modestly higher start, but gains evaporated after the release of key reports on consumer prices and weekly jobless claims.
The Labor Department reported that consumer prices in August rose slightly more than expected, climbing 0.4% after a 0.2% increase in July. Economists had anticipated a 0.3% gain. On an annual basis, inflation accelerated to 2.9% in August from 2.7% in July, aligning with forecasts.
Core prices, which exclude food and energy, were up 0.3% for the month—unchanged from July—bringing the year-over-year rate to 3.1%, also in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, initial claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly jumped, rising to 263,000 in the week ending September 6th, up 27,000 from the previous week’s revised 236,000. Economists had projected a decline to 235,000. This marks the highest level since October 23, 2021, when claims reached 268,000.
The mixed economic signals could fuel optimism that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, though they also raise concerns about potential stagflation pressures.
On Wednesday, stocks fluctuated, opening higher but retreating as the session progressed. The S&P 500 gained 19.43 points, or 0.3%, to 6,532.04, while the Nasdaq edged up 6.57 points to 21,886.06. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 220.42 points, or 0.5%, to 45,490.92, pressured by declines in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) after its recent product launches, as well as losses in Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Early gains had followed the release of producer price data, which showed a slight 0.1% decline in August, surprising economists who expected a 0.3% rise. Year-over-year growth in producer prices slowed to 2.6% from 3.1% in July.
Investors cheered the news, adding to expectations for at least a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s upcoming meeting. The markets also benefited from a surge in Oracle shares, which jumped 36% after the company projected cloud infrastructure revenue to grow from $10.3 billion in fiscal 2025 to $144 billion by 2030, despite reporting slightly weaker first-quarter earnings.
Semiconductors saw strong gains, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing 2.4% to a record close, supported by Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM), which rose 3.8% on robust August revenue growth.
Gold stocks also rallied, pushing the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up 2.2%. Oil services, natural gas, and utilities performed well, while retail and biotechnology sectors showed notable upward momentum.
Taiwan Semiconductor stock price
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