Investing.com-- US stock index futures fell slightly Thursday, cooling after a recent rally as focus turned towards upcoming inflation data to guide future Federal Reserve monetary policy.
At 06:25 ET (10:25 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell 45 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures dropped 5 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped 13 points, or 0.1%.
The main indices on Wall Street rallied on Wednesday following positive comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who noted recent cooling in the U.S. economy but felt confident there would still be a soft landing for the economy.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 1% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite surged 1.2%, with both indices ending at record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%, close to its record peak reached earlier this year.
CPI awaited for more cues on interest rates
Powell, speaking on the second day of his semi-annual Congressional testimony, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that "more good data" would build the case for the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates.
He also reiterated that the Fed remained committed to its 2% inflation target, which putting the consumer price index data, due later in the session, squarely in focus.
The data is expected to show headline CPI inflation eased slightly in June, while core inflation remained sticky.
On an annual basis U.S. June headline CPI is expected to slow to 3.1%, while core CPI is seen steady month-on-month at 0.2%.
PepsiCo hit by declining North American demand
The new U.S. quarterly earnings season starts in earnest on Friday, with results scheduled from a number of the nation’s major banking institutions.
Ahead of that soft drinks giant PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) reported disappointing second-quarter sales figures, hurt by declining demand in North America for its drinks and snacks.
Elsewhere, supermarket chain Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) stock rose 3% premarket after it announced plans to increase annual membership fees.
Chemicals firm WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) surged 12% premarket after clocking strong quarterly earnings, while aluminum giant Alcoa (NYSE:AA) rose 2.6% after also reporting strong earnings.
Crude gains on US inventory draw
Crude prices rose Thursday, extending recent gains as a drop in U.S. inventories boosted expectations of tighter global supplies.
By 06:25 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) climbed 0.4% to $82.42 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.5% to $85.47 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels last week, far exceeding expectations, while gasoline stocks fell by 2 million barrels, much bigger than the 600,000-barrel draw expected during the U.S. Fourth of July holiday week.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
This content was originally published on Investing.com
