Dow futures just lower; U.S. CPI reading in focus
Investing.com — U.S. stock futures slipped lower Wednesday, with investors cautiously awaiting the release of the latest U.S. inflation data for more insights into future Federal Reserve monetary policy.
By 06:40 ET (10:40 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 45 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures traded 5 points, or 0.1%, lower and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 30 points, or 0.2%.
The three major Wall Street indices closed lower Tuesday, weighed by sharp losses from Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), with the computer software company notching its worst day in more than 20 years on the back of disappointing revenue guidance.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1%, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.1% lower and the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
This focus Wednesday will be on the publication of the U.S. consumer price index, as investors try to gauge the likely path of U.S. interest rates over the rest of the year.
The annual headline inflation in the world's largest economy is expected to have picked up to 3.6% during the month of August from 3.2% in July, as energy prices soared, while the core reading, which strips out volatile items like food and fuel, is anticipated to have slowed to 4.3% from 4.7% year-on-year.
Recent remarks from Fed officials suggest another pause is the most likely outcome of next week's rate-setting meeting, but uncertainty still remains over what they may choose to do later on in 2023 and a substantial jump in inflation could lead to further hikes.
In the corporate sector, earnings are due from the likes of restaurant and retail chain Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL) Old Country Store and chipmaker Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) Corporation.
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) are likely
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