U.S. index futures are mostly unchanged in pre-market trading on Monday, as investors anticipate crucial inflation data. After a partial recovery from last week’s sharp drop, the market remains cautious. Analysts suggest that volatility may persist, but strong economic data could ease concerns and drive a recovery.

At 4:57 AM ET, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) dropped 23 points, -0.06%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.06%, and Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.13%. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 3.947%.

In commodities, oil prices rose for the fifth consecutive time following a 3% gain last week. This recovery is driven by reduced U.S. recession fears and escalating Middle East tensions. Geopolitical risks, especially potential retaliation from Iran and the intensifying Gaza conflict, have heightened uncertainty and pushed oil prices higher.

West Texas Intermediate crude for September rose 0.91% to $77.54 per barrel, while October Brent crude increased 0.64% to $80.17 per barrel.

On Monday’s U.S. economic calendar, the monthly federal budget report for July is due at 2:00 PM ET. The median forecast is for a $241 billion deficit, compared to the previous $221 billion deficit.

Asia-Pacific markets posted mixed results on Monday, with South Korea’s Kospi up 1.15%, driven by SK Hynix’s performance. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.46%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng saw a slight increase of 0.13% in late trading. In contrast, China’s CSI 300 fell 0.17%. Japan was closed for a holiday.

Investors were also focused on key economic indicators from India, including inflation and industrial production data. India’s annual inflation is expected to have dropped to 3.65% in July from 5.08% in June, with June’s industrial production projected at 5.5%, slightly below May’s 5.9%.

Meanwhile, Bharti Enterprises, a major Indian conglomerate, plans to acquire 24.5% of BT Group for around $4 billion, initially purchasing 9.99% from Altice and the rest after regulatory approval. Adani Group shares dropped following accusations from Hindenburg Research about potential conflicts of interest involving the head of India’s market regulator, though most losses were recovered.

In South Korea, memory chip exports to Taiwan surged 225.7% in the first half of the year compared to the previous year. This growth was driven by SK Hynix’s (KOSPI:000660) high-bandwidth chips supplied to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which uses Taiwan’s TSMC (NYSE:TSM) for chip manufacturing.

European markets started the week higher, led by the financial services and insurance sectors, buoyed by optimism after last week’s volatility. Investors are focusing on upcoming U.S. and UK inflation reports, with Wednesday’s UK inflation data being particularly relevant following the recent 25-basis-point rate cut by the Bank of England.

In the last session, U.S. stocks closed slightly higher, extending Thursday’s gains and easing the earlier week’s sell-off. On Friday, the Dow Jones rose 0.13%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.47%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.51%. The lack of significant economic data and caution ahead of this week’s crucial inflation and retail sales reports reflected market hesitation. Last week, the S&P 500 fell less than one-tenth of 1%, the Nasdaq declined 0.2%, and the Dow dropped 0.6%.

Before the market opens, companies reporting quarterly results include Monday.com  (NASDAQ:MNDY), Barrick Gold Corporation  (NYSE:GOLD), Esperion Therapeutics  (NASDAQ:ESPR), KE Holdings  (NYSE:BEKE), Ballard Power Systems  (NASDAQ:BLDP), Orla Mining  (AMEX:ORLA), China Vuchai International  (NYSE:CYD), Central Puerto  (NYSE:CEPU), Adaptimmune Therapeutics  (NASDAQ:ADAP), Beasley Broadcast Group  (NASDAQ:BBGI).

After the market closes, reports are expected from Terawulf  (NASDAQ:WULF), Freightcar America  (NASDAQ:RAIL), Arq Inc  (NASDAQ:ARQ), Adecoagro  (NYSE:AGRO), DoubleDown Interactive Company  (NASDAQ:DDI), Rumble Inc  (NASDAQ:RUM), Sun Life Financial  (NYSE:SLF), DHT Holdings  (NYSE:DHT), Perspective Therapeutics  (AMEX:CATX), Crescent Capital BDC  (NASDAQ:CCAP), and others.