U.S. stock futures edged marginally higher Friday ahead of the release of key inflation data that could provide clues about the extent of the Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting cycle.
At 05:35 ET (09:35 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 65 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500Futures gained 24 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 140 points, or 0.6%.
The main averages on Wall Street ended in the green on Thursday, buoyed largely by President Donald Trump’s confirmation that he will meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month.
The S&P 500 is on track for a 1.1% gain this week, while the NASDAQ Compositeand the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up nearly 1.2% week to date.
CPI data looms large after shutdown delays
Still, investors were reluctant to make big moves ahead of Friday’s release of the September Consumer Price Index, which was delayed by the over-three-week-old U.S. government shutdown
With the next Federal Reserve policy meeting looming next week, investors are watching the inflation reading closely. The Fed is expected to cut rates this month by 25 basis points, followed by another reduction in December.
The delayed CPI release has taken on added importance given the data vacuum caused by the government shutdown, which has disrupted most official economic reporting.
"Despite tariff-led price pressure in some sectors, there are indications that airfares, hospitality and housing should be a drag on the CPI basket. With headline and core close to 3.0%, the Fed can cut and signal more easing ahead when it meets next week." said ING analyst Francesco Pesole, in a note.
