Nasdaq, S&P futures rise after inflation data shows jump in consumer rates

The S&P and Nasdaq futures edged higher on Monday after inflation data showed U.S. consumer prices in February rose for the first time in four months, but Boeing's fall for a second straight session pressured the Dow futures.

The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 per cent, in line with estimates, implying benign underlying inflation last month and supports the Federal Reserve's "patient" approach for further interest rate hikes this year. Investors are also watching out for developments on the Brexit front. British lawmakers, are due to vote on the Brexit deal again at around 3:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT).

Last-minute tweaks to Britain's divorce deal lifted stocks worldwide, but the gains soon petered out after Britain's Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said a revised deal with the EU did not give Britain legal means of exiting the so-called backstop arrangement unilaterally if "intractable differences" arose. "It is difficult to assess the seemingly conflicting stories on Brexit that come out. The story has gotten so complicated in terms on how it could be resolved," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.

Boeing Co fell 3 per cent, extending a fall from the previous session as more countries grounded the planemaker's best selling line of jets amid heightened anxiety among travellers about the safety of the plane. "The Boeing news is in focus as it is a big part of the U.S. economy and whether Boeing is responsible in some way or if there is a problem in its aircraft is something investors are still trying to digest," Meckler said.

The world's largest planemaker, which is the best performing Dow component this year by a wide margin, fell as much as 13.4 per cent on Monday and weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial average. However the blue-chip Dow pared losses, and all three indexes ended Monday higher boosted by a tech-led rally. Wall Street had posted five straight sessions of declines in the previous week, their biggest fall since 2018-end.

At 9:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 20 points, or 0.08 per cent. S&P 500 e-minis were up 5.75 points, or 0.21 per cent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 23.75 points, or 0.33 per cent. Among other stocks, Coca-Cola Co dipped 0.3 per cent after HSBC downgraded the soda maker's stock. F5 Networks Inc slipped 4.2 per cent after network software maker said it would buy privately held, NGINX. 

(With inputs from agencies.)