Stock Market Today: Dow futures dip as investors await key inflation report

Bank of America strategists led by Michael Hartnett said “markets stop panicking…”, a phrase that is usually combined with, when policymakers do.

China’s monetary stimulus actions this week followed a half percentage point interest rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

U.S. stock futures turned higher early Friday as traders awaited the August PCE Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

Here is where futures stood in recent trade, according to LSEG data:

Boeing got some more bad news about the safety of 737 MAX aircraft, but investors appear to be shaking it off, as the stock was gaining 0.4% in recent premarket trading.

And while Boeing is ending its second week with its machinists on strike, the stock has gained 0.8% this week through Thursday, putting it on track to snap a five-week losing streak.

Still, the stock has lost 5% (through Thursday) since the strike started before the Sept. 13 open. And it has tumbled 11% so far in September, to make it the Dow’s worst month-to-date performer.

Few on Wall Street expect a surprise from Friday’s PCE Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, when it’s released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Having already received readings from the consumer-price and producer-price indices for August, economists believe they have a pretty good idea of what the PCE report will reveal.

A team at ING expects the index’s reading on core inflation to come in around 0.2% month-over-month, which shouldn’t rock the boat. Even if the number is slightly hotter, the Fed’s recent shift toward focusing on the labor market means such an outcome likely wouldn’t move the needle.

They expect the U.S. dollar will likely stay firmly within its recent range. As of early Friday, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index stood at 100.50, according to LSEG data.

Overnight saw a big move in Asia.

How are stock-index futures trading:

S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.05%

Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.26%

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 260.36 points, or 0.62%, to 42,175, as the S&P 500 increased 23.11 points, or 0.4%, to 5,745 and the Nasdaq 100 increased 142.93 points, or 0.72%, to 20,116.

Stock futures dipped on Friday as investors awaited a key report on inflation in the U.S. economy that will give a clearer view on what course the Federal Reserve will take in cutting interest rates.

The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) report for August is set to be published at 8.30 am eastern time by the Bureau for Economic Analysis. The PCE price index is the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.

Economists polled by FactSet are expecting the report will show the annual rate of inflation has slowed from rates of 2.5% in July to 2.3% in August, in what could pave the way for more interest rate cuts from the U.S.’s central bank.

Initial jobless claims data on Thursday showed the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to four-month lows last week, in a sign of the strength of the U.S. labor market that indicates the country is likely to avoid a recession.

Elsewhere, Chinese stocks surged in the continuation of a four-day rally sparked by the People’s Bank of China’s unleashing of a ¥1 trillion stimulus package on Tuesday that is set to give support for China’s housing and equity markets. The rally has put Chinese indices on course for their highest weekly gains since 2008.

Alongside the PCE report, investors will also be waiting for data on personal income and personal spending from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and for the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment index.