Stock Futures Hold Gains Before US Inflation Data: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US stocks were set to open near all-time highs on hopes that the inflation report won’t undermine the case for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

Futures contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were little changed, while the MSCI All Country World Index extended its longest run of advances since January. Copper futures in New York rallied to a record high after a short squeeze that’s prompted a scramble to divert metal in other regions to US shores.

Treasury yields edged lower and a gauge of the dollar softened ahead of US consumer price index data, which is expected to show a slight moderation in price increases. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, is seen slowing to 0.3% month-on-month, from 0.4%.

“There seems to be an expectation that the data will cool from last month and the market does seem to be somewhat set up that way,” said Samuel Zief, head of global FX strategy at JPMorgan Chase Bank. “I think we could see a pretty intense dollar rally if the data is quite hot.”

A survey conducted by 22V Research showed 49% of investors expect the market reaction to the CPI report to be “risk-on” — while only 27% said “risk-off.” 

The week’s renewed frenzy around meme-stocks cooled off a bit, with shares of GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. giving up most of their premarket gains. 

Meanwhile, Boeing Co. shares edged lower after the US Justice Department found that the aircraft maker had violated a deferred-prosecution agreement tied to two fatal crashes half a decade ago.

In Europe, the benchmark gauge hit a fresh record as higher copper fueled mining stocks. The region stand to benefit further from the prospect of imminent rate cuts, with Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau saying that the European Central Bank is very likely to start easing policy next month.

Among commodities, oil traded in a narrow range as the International Energy Agency cut its 2024 forecast for demand growth. Gold extended gains after rising almost 1% on Tuesday.

Key events this week:

• Japan GDP, industrial production, Thursday
• US housing starts, initial jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday
• Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker speaks, Thursday
• Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaks, Thursday
• Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Thursday
• China property prices, retail sales, industrial production, Friday
• Eurozone CPI, Friday
• US Conf. Board leading index, Friday

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 7:47 a.m. New York time
• Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3%
• The MSCI World index rose 0.1%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
• The euro was little changed at $1.0826
• The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2610
• The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 155.70 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $62,427.01
• Ether rose 0.1% to $2,894.54

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.41%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined eight basis points to 2.47%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 4.11%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7% to $77.49 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,363.60 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Winnie Hsu and Naomi Tajitsu.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.