Stock futures are little changed as traders brace for key consumer inflation report: Live updates

U.S. stock futures were little changed on Wednesday night after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at new all-time highs.

Futures tied to the broad market index slipped less than 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures hovered near flat. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 35 points, or 0.1%.

WD-40 Company and PriceSmart were notable after-hours gainers, with the stocks respectively adding 11% and 6% on the back of quarterly results. Costco Wholesale gained 2% after announcing its first membership rate increase since 2017.

Earlier in the day, the S&P 500 added 1.02% to close above 5,600 for the first time, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.18% to a record close. The 30-stock Dow gained 429.39 points, or 1.09%.

These moves come before a key inflation report due to be released on Thursday morning, which could help solidify expectations for a rate cut in September.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are looking for the June reading for the consumer price index to be up 0.1% month over month, and 3.1% year over year. This would build on the positive news from the May report, which showed inflation unchanged on a monthly basis and up 3.3% year over year.

The June core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 0.2% for the month and 3.4% from a year earlier.

“With a little bit easier inflation, I would think some of the big-cap techs probably do a bit better [Thursday],” said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners. “Any upside surprises in inflation are going to be downside surprises for markets. I don’t think that’s going to happen — I see that as a low probability, but it is out there.”

PepsiCo, Delta Air Lines and Conagra are set to report earnings Thursday before the bell.