US STOCKS-Futures subdued as investors await more economic data

U.S. stock index futures were muted on Wednesday as investors awaited a slew of economic data this week, including producer prices and retail sales numbers, for hints on the timing of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts. The benchmark S&P 500 climbed to a fresh record high on Tuesday as shares of Oracle surged and slightly hot consumer price data failed to dampen hopes of interest-rate cuts in the coming months.

U.S. stock index futures were muted on Wednesday as investors awaited a slew of economic data this week, including producer prices and retail sales numbers, for hints on the timing of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts.

The benchmark S&P 500 climbed to a fresh record high on Tuesday as shares of Oracle surged and slightly hot consumer price data failed to dampen hopes of interest-rate cuts in the coming months. Despite inflation being well above the central bank's 2% target, investors have found consolation in the fact that the Fed still sees credit conditions easing in 2024, while the economy remains resilient.

Traders now see a 66% chance of the first rate cut coming in June, the CME FedWatch Tool showed. Since March 2022, the Fed has raised its policy rate by 525 basis points to the current range of 5.25% to 5.50%. "While the February CPI data was noisy across segments, we believe the U.S. economy continues to be in good shape and is heading for a soft landing," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, in a note.

On tap later this week is economic data that includes the February producer prices on Thursday, which could offer more insight into inflation in the world's largest economy. At 08:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 23 points, or 0.06%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 2 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 14.5 points, or 0.08%.

Some market participants believe the relentless U.S. stock market rally is poised for a breather, even if it remains unclear whether equities are in a bubble or a strong bull run. Most megacap growth and technology stocks edged down in premarket trading.

Tesla shed 2.2% after brokerage Wells Fargo downgraded the electric-vehicle maker to "underweight" from "equal weight". AI giant Nvidia climbed 1.0% following its 7.1% jump in the previous session.

Dollar Tree lost 8.2% after the discount chain store group said it would close nearly 1,000 stores and incurred a net loss for the previous quarter, hurt by an over-$1 billion goodwill impairment charge. Peer Dollar General also slid 1.5%. Intel shed 1.4% after a report that the Pentagon had pulled out of a plan to spend as much as $2.5 billion on a chip grant to the company.

Crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital and Bit Digital added 1.8% to 4.7% as bitcoin hit a fresh record high. GE HealthCare Technologies was down 5.7% as General Electric is to cut its stake in the medical equipment firm.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)