Futures edge lower, Boeing shares slump premarket - what's moving markets

investing.com:

Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures edge lower on Monday with all-important inflation data out of the world's largest economy due later this week. Elsewhere, Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares fall premarket as the planemaker and U.S. regulators reportedly discuss the criteria for safety inspections after a dangerous mid-air fuselage breach. Meanwhile, an executive at the electric vehicle division of China's Evergrande is detained on suspicion of «illegal crimes.»

1. Futures inch lower

U.S. stock futures hovered below the flatline on Monday, as investors prepared for the release of key inflation data later in the week that could factor into how the Federal Reserve approaches potential interest rate cuts in 2024.

By 05:13 ET (10:13 GMT), the S&P 500 futures contract had shed 9 points or 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures had lost 36 points or 0.2%, and Dow futures had dropped by 178 points or 0.5%.

Attention is turning the publication of the U.S. consumer price index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday, which is expected to show that headline inflation accelerated slightly to 3.2% in December. The measure registered a pace of 3.1% in November. Month-on-month, it is seen speeding up to 0.2%.

But the core figure, which strips out volatile items like food and energy, is seen slowing to 3.8% annually and 0.2% monthly.

How the numbers shake out could impact market estimates for U.S. interest rates in the coming months. Hopes that the Fed will slash borrowing costs early this year have waned recently, particularly after minutes from the central bank's latest meeting showed that officials believed rates could remain elevated «for some time» to help bring inflation back down to its 2% target.

Evidence that the Fed's fight to cool price