Dow futures edge higher ahead of key inflation release

investing.com:

Investing.com — U.S. stock futures traded higher Friday, on course to register a positive quarter ahead of the release of key inflation data which could guide future Federal Reserve action.

By 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 115 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 futures traded 20 points, or 0.4% higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 85 points, or 0.6%.

The hawkish nature of the recent comments by U.S. Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell has led investors to largely factor in another interest rate hike in the near future, probably in July.

With this in mind, investors are keeping a close eye on the core personal consumption expenditures index, due later in the session, as this is the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation.

PCE prices are expected to rise 4.6% for the year and 0.5% for May, and could help decide the next step on interest rates, with the Fed’s last meeting indicating that they still see potentially two more hikes of 25 basis points this year.

This is the last trading day of the week, the month, and the quarter, and the period has largely been a positive one for investors, helped by increasing confidence of a soft-landing scenario after the release of generally strong economic data.

The broad-based S&P 500 is on course for monthly gains of over 5%, its best monthly performance since January, and a quarterly improvement of almost 7%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is even more impressive, with a monthly gain of around 5%, and a quarterly return of over 11%, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed just under 4% in June, on track for its best month since November, up around 2.5% on the quarter.

In corporate news, earnings are due from spirits and brewing giant Constellation Brands