Stock market today: Wall Street leans toward more gains ahead of important U.S. inflation update

Wall Street pointed toward gains early Friday ahead of a highly anticipated inflation update from the U.S. government.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.4% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.

Chipmakers were broadly higher before the open, led by Marvell Technology, which was up 10.6% after its latest quarterly results hit Wall Street’s sales and profit targets.

Dell also beat analysts’ second-quarter forecasts, boosted by record server and networking revenue as companies continue to beef up their artificial intelligence infrastructure. Its shares rose 4.4% in premarket.

Mall-based cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty tumbled 8.7% after its sales and profit fell short of expectations. Ulta, which Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed a stake in earlier this month, also trimmed its guidance below analysts’ forecasts.

Mostly solid U.S. earnings and economic growth updates are capping off a month of encouraging reports for the broader economy. Data from various reports in August have shown that retail sales, employment and consumer confidence remain strong.

The key report this week comes later Friday, when the U.S. government releases its July data on inflation with the PCE, or personal consumption and expenditures report. Economists expect the PCE, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, to show that inflation edged up to 2.6% in July from 2.5% in June. It was as high as 7.1% in the middle of 2022.

Hopes are growing for the Federal Reserve to start cutting its benchmark interest rate. Traders expect the first cut to happen at the next meeting in September. The market is betting that the Fed will cut its benchmark rate by a full 1% by the end of the year.

In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.3%, Germany’s DAX ticked up nearly 0.2%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.7% to finish at 38,647.75 after data on the world’s fourth largest economy came in mostly positive.

Industrial production rose 2.8% in July from the previous month, a rebound from minus 4.2% in June, according to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. That was weaker than what the market had expected, but a sign of growth. In other findings, the unemployment rate rose to 2.7% in July, up from 2.5% in June.

Tokyo consumer prices rose more than expected to 2.6% year on year in August, up from 2.2% in July, as prices of food and utilities surged. That’s almost certain to catch the attention of the Bank of Japan as it mulls when to raise interest rates, a move that’s expected later this year or early next year.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 17 cents to $75.74 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave back 9 cents to $78.73 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 145.37 Japanese yen from 145.02 yen. The euro cost $1.1084, up a touch from $1.1082.

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