Before the Bell
US stock futures are modestly higher this morning, with S&P 500 futures up about +0.2% and Dow futures up about +0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures are slightly lower. The session hinges on the September Consumer Price Index (CPI, the government's main inflation gauge) at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, where economists expect prices to have risen 0.6% in the month and 3.6% from a year earlier, both faster than August. Oil explains the focus: Brent crude is near $106 a barrel as fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels, and strikes on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, keep supply fears alive. New York Fed President John Williams said overnight that one more rate increase this year may be needed.
Tuesday ended slightly lower. The S&P 500 slipped -0.02% to 7,805.45, just below last week's record; the Nasdaq Composite fell -0.15% to 27,204.38 and the Dow fell -0.35% to 51,670.10. Chip stocks led the decline on reports of progress by Chinese memory maker CXMT and broader unease about AI spending: Applied Materials fell about -6.7% and Micron about -3.6%. Wells Fargo dropped about -3.1% after its net interest income missed estimates. Overnight, Europe is higher, led by ASML after a strong quarter, while Asia was mixed and Japan's Nikkei was roughly flat.