Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction as traders digest the latest U.S. economic data.

The futures had been pointing a modestly higher open for the markets but gave back ground following the release of separate reports on consumer price inflation and weekly jobless claims.

A closely watched Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in the month of August.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in August after inching up by 0.2 percent in July. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 2.9 percent in August from 2.7 percent in July, in line with economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent in August, matching the increase seen in July as well as expectations.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth in August was unchanged from the previous month at 3.1 percent, in line with economist estimates.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended September 6th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 263,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level of 236,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000 from the 237,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 268,000 in the week ended October 23, 2021.

While the data may add to recent optimism about the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates next week, it may also lead to concerns about the economy entering a period of stagflation.

Stocks moved mostly higher early in the session on Wednesday but gave back ground over the course of the trading day. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq pulled back well off their best levels but still managed to end the day at new record closing highs.

The S&P 500 rose 19.43 points or 0.3 percent to 6,532.04 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 6.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,886.06.

The narrower Dow, on the other hand, slid 220.42 points or 0.5 percent to 45,490.92, as Apple (AAPL) slumped following the launch of new iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods on Tuesday. Steep losses by Salesforce (CRM) and Amazon (AMZN) also weighed on the day blue chip index.

The early strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report unexpectedly showing a modest decrease by producer prices in the U.S. in the month of August.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand edged down by 0.1 percent in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7 percent in July.

The dip surprised economists, who had expected producer prices to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.9 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.6 percent in August from a downwardly revised 3.1 percent in July.

Economists had expected the annual rate of producer price growth to remain unchanged compared to the 3.3 percent surge originally reported for the previous month.

The data added to recent optimism about the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates by at least a quarter point at its monetary policy meeting next week.

The markets also benefitted from a surge by shares of Oracle (ORCL), with the software company soaring by 36.0 percent.

The spike by Oracle came after the company reported slightly weaker than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but said it expects cloud infrastructure revenue to skyrocket to $144 billion in fiscal 2030 from $10.3 billion in fiscal 2025.

Buying waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation on Thursday.

Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 2.4 percent to a record closing high.

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) surged by 3.8 percent after the chipmaker reported strong August revenue growth.

Considerable strength was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Oil service, natural gas and utilities stocks also saw significant strength on the day, while retail and biotechnology stocks showed notable moves to the upside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are slumping $0.79 to $62.88 a barrel after jumping $1.04 to $63.67 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after edging down $0.20 to $3,682 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $3.60 to $3,678.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.56 yen versus the 147.46 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1704 compared to yesterday's $1.1695.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as an unexpected dip by U.S. producer prices fueled hopes of Federal Reserve rate cuts and helped offset rising geopolitical tensions and widespread political turmoil in South Asia.

Federal Reserve policymakers look all but certain to reduce short-term borrowing costs by a quarter of a percentage point at their policy meeting next week, but a half-point cut might become a real possibility if U.S. core CPI data due later in the day underwhelms.

The consensus estimate shows that the headline CPI likely rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier in August, the fastest pace since January, while the core measure likely held at 3.1 percent.

China's Shanghai Composite Index surged 1.7 percent to 3,875.31 on renewed optimism about artificial intelligence technology.

However, pharma stocks tumbled following reports that the Trump administration is considering new curbs on imports of experimental pharmaceuticals.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4percent to 26,086.32 on profit taking after recent strong gains to a four-year high amid expectations for improved earnings growth and policy support from Beijing.

Japanese markets rallied as tariff worries eased and data showed Japanese wholesale inflation rose 2.7 percent year-on-year in August, matching expectations.

Additionally, a government survey showed that sentiment among big Japanese firms turned positive for the first time in two quarters.

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.2 percent to 44,372.50, hitting a new record high amid by gains by technology stocks. The broader Topix Index settled 0.2 percent higher at 3,147.76.

Technology investor SoftBank spiked nearly 10 percent after its Stargate Project partner, Oracle, gave an aggressive outlook for its cloud business.

Seoul stocks surged to reach a new record high after President Lee Jae Myung said he would not pursue plans to revise a capital gains tax on stock investments.

The Kospi shot up by 0.9 percent to 3,344.20, extending its winning streak to an eighth session, led by gains by technology stocks.

Australian markets ended slightly lower as healthcare stocks dragged and shares of Nine Entertainment slumped almost 36 percent on going ex-dividend following the $3 billion sale of Domain.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped by 0.3 percent to 8,805, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed down 0.3 percent at 9,071.40.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.4 percent to 13,229.15.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly higher on Thursday, with France's political crisis and the European Central Bank's widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in the spotlight.

Mass protests swept France as new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu takes office amid anger over budget cuts and political turmoil.

U.S. consumer price inflation data also remains on investors' radar following a surprisingly encouraging report on producer prices the day before.

The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.

In corporate news, British gambling technology company Playtech has surged after the company announced strong first half results and said it is positioned to exceed full-year expectations.

Online ticketing platform Trainline has also shown a significant move to the upside following a robust first half trading statement.

Technip Energies has also jumped in Paris. The energy infrastructure company has agreed to buy U.S.-based chemicals group Ecovyst's Advanced Materials & Catalysts business for $556 million.

Sanofi has also moved higher after its SAR402663 earned fast track designation in the U.S. for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

U.S. Economic News

Following yesterday's report showing an unexpected dip by producer prices, the Labor Department released a separate report on Thursday showing U.S. consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in the month of August.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in August after inching up by 0.2 percent in July. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 2.9 percent in August from 2.7 percent in July, in line with economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent in August, matching the increase seen in July as well as expectations.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth in August was unchanged from the previous month at 3.1 percent, in line with economist estimates.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended September 6th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 263,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level of 236,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000 from the 237,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 268,000 in the week ended October 23, 2021.

At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month's auction of twenty-year bonds.

The Treasury Department is also due to announce the results of this month's auction of $22 billion worth of thirty-year bonds at 1 pm ET.