A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE
Stock futures climbed slightly higher Wednesday evening as investors gained confidence in signs of easing inflation.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points, or about 0.05%. S&P futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each hovered above the flatline.
Encouraging inflation data this week has largely swept away investors’ recessionary fears and led to a rebound in equities following last week’s sharp global sell-off.
In after-hours trading, Cisco Systems jumped more than 5% after announcing a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat and cuts to its global workforce.
Several companies also made moves after 13F regulatory filings revealed closely watched investment managers were adding the stocks to their portfolios. Ulta Beauty shares popped more than 13.5% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported a new stake in the cosmetics company. Nike shares added about 3% after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square revealed a position in the sneaker giant.
Stocks climbed on Wednesday after the consumer price index reflected a slowing annual inflation rate of 2.9%, the lowest since 2021. That data — coupled with a key measure of wholesale inflation released Tuesday that rose less than expected — has reassured investors that an economic soft landing is back on the table and that the Federal Reserve will likely lower interest rates at the central bank’s September meeting.
The CPI report confirmed “a trend that has been in place for a number of months: inflation moderating to a more normalized run rate level of price gains, and one that should continue to build confidence for the Federal Reserve that this part of its mandate has been durably tamed,” said BlackRock’s global chief investment officer of fixed income Rick Rieder.
Investors will be watching for retail sales data out Thursday for further insight on the direction of the economy. Although data releases aren’t typically major market movers, recent bouts of volatility have put an added emphasis on the reports. Walmart earnings are also out Thursday before market open, putting consumer spending in focus.
The three major U.S. indexes are now trading above their Aug. 2 closing level, which was the session before the global stock market crash on Aug. 5 that was largely driven by investors’ concerns about an economic slowdown and an unexpected unwind of the yen carry trade.
This week, the 30-stock Dow is up 1.3%, while the broad-market index has added about 2%. The Nasdaq has gained nearly 2.7% so far this week.
