Stock market today: US futures point higher after US inflation data ease rate hike worries

abcnews.go.com:

Wall Street is poised to open with gains following a report that showed a modest increase in inflation across the U.S. in August that eased worries over the likelihood of another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve

Wall Street is pointing higher Thursday following a modest increase in inflation across the U.S. in August that eased worries over the likelihood of another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Futures for the S&P 500 edged 0.4% higher before the bell Thursday and futures for the Dow Jones industrials were up 0.3%.

While the inflation data was a touch hotter than estimated, economists and investors don’t expect it to change the Fed’s anticipated track much. The forecast is still for the U.S. central bank to keep interest rates steady at its meeting next week.

The inflation report showed that U.S. consumers paid prices last month that were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from July’s inflation rate of 3.2% and slightly more than the forecasts for a 3.6% increase.

That’s discouraging for shoppers paying higher prices, but much of the acceleration was because of higher fuel costs. Underlying inflation trends indicated a continued moderation in price increases, economists said. Inflation has been generally cooling since peaking above 9% last year.

The inflation report was important because it will help steer what the Federal Reserve does next on interest rates. The Fed has already hiked its main rate to the highest level in more than two decades, which hurts prices for stocks and other investments, and the hope on Wall Street is that inflation has cooled enough for it to be done.

Even though economists are willing to ignore fuel costs when looking at inflation to find the underlying trends,