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Dow futures edge higher ahead of key September CPI release

Published 12/10/2023, 12:00
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Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures edged higher Thursday as investors cautiously awaited the release of the latest consumer price figures, which could provide clues over future Federal Reserve monetary policy. 

By 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 125 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 Futures traded 18 points, or 0.4%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 60 points, or 0.4%.

The main indices on Wall Street closed higher Wednesday, helped in part by the minutes from the U.S. central bank's September meeting which showed that officials were keen to take a cautious approach to further hikes to interest rates.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Monday 65 points, or 0.2%, higher, the benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.7%.

Fed minutes point to future caution

Fed policymakers agreed that the world's most influential central bank should "proceed carefully" on upcoming interest rate decisions, minutes from their September meeting showed.

Importantly, however, these views were recorded prior to a recent spike in U.S. Treasury yields, and Fed officials have since suggested that this increase could be seen as a form of tightening, lessening the need for more rate hikes.

This view was voiced Wednesday by Fed Governor Christopher Waller, traditionally something of a rate hawk, who posited that the run-up in yields may have in effect done "some of the work" of tightening financial conditions for policymakers. 

Consumer prices in focus

However, for this view to take firm hold inflation has to continue to retreat. 

Producer prices came in stronger than expected on Wednesday, and a hotter than expected consumer prices report could likely change the whole narrative.

Economists expect September's headline CPI reading to slow on an annual basis to 3.6% from 3.7%. Month-on-month, the figure is seen decelerating to 0.3% from 0.6%.

Particular attention will likely be dedicated to the core number, which strips out volatile items like food and energy. The monthly underlying rate is projected to stay unchanged at 0.3% and ease down to 4.1% year-on-year.

Delta Air Lines reports quarterly earnings 

The new quarterly corporate earnings season begins to kick into gear, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) in the spotlight after the carrier reported a jump in profit of almost 60% thanks to a strong summer. 

However, the airline also trimmed its full-year profit outlook, citing higher fuel costs.

Earnings are also due from the likes of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA), Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) and Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) due Thursday.

Crude rises after IEA lifts 2023 demand forecast

Oil prices rose Thursday, helped by the decision of the International Energy Agency to lift its demand forecast for this year to 2.3 million barrels a day from a prior forecast of 2.2 million, even after the sharp rise in prices.

The Paris-based organization did cut its 2024 demand growth to 880,000 barrels per day, compared with its previous forecast of 1 million barrels.

The market had fallen around 2% during the previous session after indications of a hefty rise in U.S. crude stocks last week raised concerns about demand at the largest consumer in the world.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles swelled by just under 13 million barrels, according to data from the industry body American Petroleum Institute, which, if confirmed by the official numbers from the Energy Information Administration later in the session, would be the largest weekly crude stockpile build in eight months.

By 06:55 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.7% higher at $84.11 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.9% to $86.61 a barrel. 

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,894.65/oz, while EUR/USD traded largely flat at 1.0617.

(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)

 

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