Japan PPI inflation slips to 11-mth low in July
Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures rose Tuesday evening after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh record highs, as mild inflation data bolstered prospects for a Federal Reserve rate cut next month.
S&P 500 Futures inched 0.2% higher to 6,409.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures jumped 0.8% to 23,835.75 points by 20:17 ET (00:17 GMT), signaling sharp gains in tech in the upcoming session.
Dow Jones Futures were largely unchanged at 44,551.0 points.
Wall St boosted by Fed rate cut expectations
In the regular trading session on Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to a fresh all-time closing high, while the NASDAQ Composite also notched another record peak, with a 1.4% jump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.1%.
Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer prices rose a moderate 0.2% in July, matching June’s pace and aligning with economists’ forecasts.
On a year-over-year basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) held steady at 2.7%, unchanged from June, but was slower than economists’ predictions of 2.8%.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI climbed 0.3% month-on-month and 3.1% annually, above the 3.0% expected.
Economists and market participants interpreted the data as supportive of potential monetary easing by the Federal Reserve.
“Inflation was broadly in line with expectations as tariffs continue to be largely absorbed within US corporate profit margins,” ING analysts said in a note.
“This gives the Fed the room to respond to the weaker jobs backdrop and cut interest rates from September,” they added.
A separate gauge of producer prices for final demand is scheduled for release on Thursday, while a metric of American retail sales and a survey of consumer sentiment will be published on Friday.
Investors also weighed Trump’s nomination of economist E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing Erika McEntarfer following this month’s weak jobs report.
Intel rises as CEO meets Trump; Perplexity bids for Google’s Chrome
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares closed 5.6% higher on Tuesday after President Trump signaled a positive meeting with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Before this, Trump had demanded that Intel fire Lip-Bu Tan amid national security worries.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) rose more than 1% after AI startup Perplexity reportedly made a $34.5 billion bid for Google’s Chrome browser.
Elsewhere, crypto firm Circle (NYSE:CRCL) rose 1.3% after it delivered its first quarterly results as a publicly traded company, beating Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines.