U.S. stock futures were rising on Friday, ahead of consumer price inflation data for November that’s expected to surge by the fastest pace in about 40 years, adding to pressure for the Federal Reserve to start tapering its bond purchases at a faster pace at next week’s meeting.
How are stock-index futures trading?
- S&P 500 futures ES00, +0.30% were up 0.3% to 4,673
- Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00, +0.22% futures rose 74 points, or 0.3% to 35,766
- Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, +0.19% rose 0.2 to 16,183
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell in the final moments of trading, dropping 0.06 point to 35754.69, while the S&P 500 SPX slipped 0.72% to 4667.45 and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, 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 major indexes, as investors rushed to buy beaten-down stocks following the market slump on 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.
Read: Traders see next U.S. CPI reading close to 7% as volatile markets try to shake off omicron and Federal Reserve’s hawkish pivot
“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 needs 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.
See also: Household wealth has surged an astonishing $ 36 trillion. What that means for markets.
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.
- Peleton PTON, -11.35% shares fell more than 3% after the maker of home-exercise equipment was cut to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse, which slashed its price target to $ 50 from $ 112. Shares slid 11% on Thursday, amid publicity over a plot twist in the “Sex and the City” revival.
How are other assets trading?
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.509% rose 3 basis points to 1.512%. Treasury yields and prices move in opposite directions.
- The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.09%, a measure of the currency against a half-dozen other monetary units, was up less than 0.1% at 96.35.
- In oil futures, West Texas Intermediate crude CL00, +1.01% for January delivery CLFFX, -1.06% rose 68 cents, or 1% to $ 71.62 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
- Gold futures GC00, -0.03% for February delivery GCG22, -0.03% declined by $ 2.80, or 0.1%, to $ 1,773 an ounce
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index SXXP, -0.26% fell 0.2, while London’s FTSE 100 Index UKX, -0.07% was flat.
- In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.18% closed 0.1% lower, while the Hang Seng Index HSI, -1.07% fell 1% in Hong Kong and China’s CSI 300 000300, -0.46% fell 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index NIK, -1.00% closed down 1%.