U.S. futures traded higher on Thursday morning as investors looked forward to another key inflation report set for release today. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up about 0.38%, 0.24%, and 0.23%, respectively, at 4:18 a.m. EST, March 14.
In yesterday’s trading session, the Dow Jones added 0.1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices declined 0.19% and 0.83%, respectively. The fall in most of the Magnificent Seven stocks, including Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), Meta Platforms (META), and Microsoft (MSFT), led to a broader market downturn.
In major after-hours news, electronic trading platform provider Robinhood (HOOD) gained over 10% on its impressive assets under custody (AUC) report for February. On the other hand, EV startup Fisker (FSR) tanked 47% on news of a potential bankruptcy filing. Also, the stock of cybersecurity company SentinelOne (S) declined 10% due to a soft sales outlook.
Today, investors are awaiting the release of the wholesale inflation data represented by the Producer Price Index (PPI). Experts expect headline PPI to have increased by 0.3% in February, mirroring January’s growth. In addition, economic reports on Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended March 9 and last month’s Retail sales data are scheduled for today. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision due on March 20 will take into account the inflation data and the health of the labor market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was up at the time of writing, floating near 4.2%. Also, the WTI crude oil futures trended higher, hovering near $79.87 per barrel as of the last check, on lower U.S. crude inventories.
Elsewhere, European indices remained muted on Thursday morning as investors remained focused on the last key data point ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting next week, which can influence their interest rate decision.
Asia-Pacific Markets Ended Mixed on Thursday
Asia-Pacific indices ended today’s session on a mixed note as markets looked ahead to Japan’s wage negotiations and key U.S. inflation data.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed lower by 0.75%. Similarly, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices ended down by 0.18% and 0.52%, respectively. At the same time, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices finished higher by 0.29% and 0.49%, respectively.
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