U.S. stock futures were edging higher on Friday, ahead of consumer price inflation data that’s expected to surge by the fastest pace in decades, adding to pressure for the Federal Reserve to start tapering at next week’s meeting.
How are stock-index futures trading?
- S&P 500 futures
ES00,
+0.26%
were up 0.2% to 4,670 - Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
+0.13%
futures rose 0.1% to 35,700 - Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
+0.28%
rose 0.2% to 16,183
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.00%
fell in the final moments of trading, dropping 0.06 point to 35754.69, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.72%
slipped 0.72% to 4667.45 and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
-1.71%,
meanwhile slid 269.62 points or 1.71% to 15517.37.
What’s driving the markets?
Thursday’s losses followed a three-session win streak for all three indexes, as investors rushed to buy beaten-down stocks following market upheaval from worries over the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Concerns over Chinese property companies as China Evergrande
3333,
-1.67%
was downgraded at Fitch also simmered in the background.
The focus for Friday will settle squarely on November consumer price inflation, which is expected to rise 6.7% on an annual basis, according to a poll of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. That would mark the fastest annual rate since the 1980s.
“A 7-handle on CPI will have people falling over themselves that the Fed are ‘behind the curve’ and it may increase political pressure from the Biden administration that the Fed need to end its QE program far earlier,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will meet Dec. 14-15.
“Granted, economists will be fraternizing over the finer details and whether inflation was driven by car auction prices or owners’ equivalent rents, but the first reaction in rates, the USD, gold and NAS100 will be on the headline print,” said Weston.
Also on tap for Friday will be the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for December, along with the Federal budget for November.
What companies are in focus?
- Shares of Oracle
ORCL,
-0.19%
climbed 10% in premarket trading after the database giant reported forecast-beating fiscal second-quarter results. - Broadcom
AVGO,
-0.87%
shares rose 6% after the chip and software company announced an aggressive plan to return shareholder cash following an earnings beat. - Chewy
CHWY,
-6.32%
stock slid 9% after the online retailer of pet food and other pet-related products reported fiscal third-quarter results late Thursday.
