U.S. stock futures diverged ahead of Thursday’s September inflation report, with Dow contracts higher and S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 lower, FXStreet reported as investors awaited data tied to the Fed’s inflation goal.
In a report timestamped 4:38 a.m. ET (08:38 GMT), FXStreet put Dow futures up 0.37% near 52,890. S&P 500 futures fell 0.38% to about 7,750, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 1.2% to around 29,620. The Associated Press (AP) earlier reported a similar direction for Dow and S&P 500 futures, with each move rounded to 0.4%. A similar split appeared in an earlier futures session.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index as part of its Personal Income and Outlays release. The latest published figures, covering August, showed prices up 3.4% from a year earlier and 0.3% from July. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 3% year over year and 0.2% month over month. The Federal Reserve uses the index’s annual change to assess progress toward its 2% longer-run inflation goal.
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 10-2 to keep the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4%. FOMC members Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase. The committee’s statement said, “Inflation remains elevated.”
Company results also featured in the market backdrop. Alphabet reported third-quarter revenue of $127.6 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. Microsoft reported revenue of $92.3 billion, up 19%, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, with Azure revenue growth of 48%.
AP reported that Alphabet shares dropped about 10% after hours as investors weighed the company’s revenue against its AI spending. Microsoft shares gained nearly 3% after its results, which AP characterized as stronger than expected.
The BEA had scheduled the September report, including the PCE index, for 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 GMT) Thursday, Oct. 29.
