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Stock market today: US futures pop after CPI, with Fed looming
US stock futures rose on Wednesday after a fresh reading on inflation showed consumer prices increased less than expected in May. The latest snapshot of inflation comes hours before a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting in the afternoon will provide the latest signal on the path of interest rates.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) built on a 27th record close of the year, rising 0.7%. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose nearly 0.9%, also pointing to gains after a record close for the index. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) gained 0.6%.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained flat over the previous month and rose 3.3% over the prior year in May — a deceleration from April’s 0.3% month-over-month increase and 3.4% annual gain in prices. Both measures beat economist expectations. On a “core” basis, which strips out the more volatile costs of food and gas, prices in May climbed 0.2% over the prior month and 3.4% over last year — cooler than April’s data. Both measures also came in better than economist estimates.
Read more: How does the labor market affect inflation?
Meanwhile, the Fed’s decision is all but certain — the central bank is expected to keep rates at their current 23-year-high levels. Investors will be more closely watching the release of the Fed’s updated economic projections in its “dot plot” — specifically, how many rate cuts it projects for the rest of the year.
Last we heard, in March, it was three. Policymakers are almost certain to slash that, thanks in part to the aforementioned inflation’s stickiness to start this year. Those projections, along with what Fed Chair Jerome Powell says in his press conference, could be the last market-moving events in an extraordinarily busy day.
In corporates, Apple (AAPL) shares cooled off after surging to a record high on Tuesday. Shares fell 0.2% premarket.
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