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US stock futures steadied on Wednesday after Treasury yields advanced to fresh multidecade highs and investors awaited the latest signal on sticky inflation.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) rose 0.4%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) added 0.2%. Contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) traded at 0.2% after stocks fell fractionally the day before.
Stocks continue to be caught in the undertow of rising bond yields and volatile oil prices as the war in Iran enters its seventh month, keeping inflation concerns in play. Crude oil futures (CL=F, BZ=F) stabilized on Wednesday in the mid-$90-per-barrel range.
Traders pared back bets that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates at its October meeting to roughly a coin flip from over 70% odds a day ago. The bias moved ever so slightly toward a Fed hold, per CME Group, after New York Federal Reserve president John Williams said there was “no need for urgency” to raise rates in October, which markets viewed as a sign Fed rates could stay put.
The next test will come from the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, scheduled for release on Wednesday. Economists expect the “core” reading excluding food and energy will remain unchanged at 3.3% year over year.
Micron (MU) earnings after the bell will also offer investors insights into the state of the memory and AI market. Slim Jim maker Conagra Brands (CAG) reports results before the bell.
LIVE 1 update
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Dollar set for large rise in September, mainly at euro’s expense
Reuters reports:
The dollar stood near this year’s high versus the euro on Wednesday and was poised for the largest monthly rise against it in 14 months, powered by US growth and rising US interest rates in contrast to the energy and debt worries swirling in Europe.
On Tuesday the euro dipped to its lowest since May 2025, at $1.1312, and it traded nearby at $1.1339 in Asia on Wednesday. The euro is also testing support around 178 yen.
The dollar is up nearly 2.5% on the euro in September and it is set to notch a third straight quarterly rise.
“The US economy is running hot, Europe is losing the global AI race, and energy supplies and French politics remain big concerns for the euro,” said Brent Donnelly, president of foreign exchange trading at analytics firm Spectra Markets.
