Stock Market Today: Dow futures dip as investors await key inflation report
How are stock-index futures trading:
S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.05%
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.26%
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 260.36 points, or 0.62%, to 42,175, as the S&P 500 increased 23.11 points, or 0.4%, to 5,745 and the Nasdaq 100 increased 142.93 points, or 0.72%, to 20,116.
Stock futures dipped on Friday as investors awaited a key report on inflation in the U.S. economy that will give a clearer view on what course the Federal Reserve will take in cutting interest rates.
The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) report for August is set to be published at 8.30 am eastern time by the Bureau for Economic Analysis. The PCE price index is the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.
Economists polled by FactSet are expecting the report will show the annual rate of inflation has slowed from rates of 2.5% in July to 2.3% in August, in what could pave the way for more interest rate cuts from the U.S.’s central bank.
Initial jobless claims data on Thursday showed the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to four-month lows last week, in a sign of the strength of the U.S. labor market that indicates the country is likely to avoid a recession.
Elsewhere, Chinese stocks surged in the continuation of a four-day rally sparked by the People’s Bank of China’s unleashing of a ¥1 trillion stimulus package on Tuesday that is set to give support for China’s housing and equity markets. The rally has put Chinese indices on course for their highest weekly gains since 2008.
Alongside the PCE report, investors will also be waiting for data on personal income and personal spending from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and for the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment index.