The major U.S. index futures have fluctuated before the start of trading on Thursday as traders digest highly anticipated U.S. consumer price inflation data.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3 percent in December after inching up by 0.1 percent in November. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.2 percent.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still rose by 0.3 percent in December, matching the increase seen in November as well as economist estimates.
The report also showed the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 3.4 percent in December from 3.1 percent in November. The annual rate of growth was expected to tick up to 3.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the annual rate of growth by core consumer prices slowed to 3.9 percent in December from 4.0 percent in November. Economists had expected the pace of core price growth to decelerate to 3.8 percent.
Treasury yields have seen considerable volatility following the release of the data, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
After ending Tuesday’s session on opposite sides of the unchanged line, the major U.S. stock indexes all moved to the upside during trading on Wednesday. With the upward move, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed higher for the fourth straight session.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels in late-day trading but remained in positive territory. The Nasdaq advanced 111.94 points or 0.8 percent to 14,969.65, the S&P 500 climbed 26.95 points or 0.6 percent to 4,783.45 and the Dow rose 170.57 points or 0.5 percent to 37,695.73.
The strength on Wall Street may have reflected optimism ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data in the comings days.
With economists expecting the reports to show slowdowns in the annual rate of core price growth, the data could bolster optimism about near-term rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
However, if the data surprises to the upside, it could add to recent skepticism about whether the Fed will begin cutting rates in March.
Ahead of the reports, CME Group’s FedWatch Tool indicated a 67.1 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point at its March meeting.
Software stocks showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index up by 1.6 percent to a record closing high.
Considerable strength was also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Lennar (LEN) helped lead the sector higher after the homebuilder raised its annual dividend to $2.00 per share from $1.50 per share and increased its stock repurchase authorization by $5 billion.
On the other hand, energy stocks have moved notably lower on the day, with a pullback by the price of crude oil weighing on the sector.
With crude for February delivery falling $0.87 to $71.37 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index slid by 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.