US Futures Remain Steady Amid Wall Street Caution Ahead of April PPI Report

U.S. index futures are almost unchanged in pre-market trading this Tuesday, reflecting Wall Street’s caution ahead of key inflation reports.

At 6:37 AM, the Dow Jones (DOWI:DJI) futures rose 4 points, or +0.01%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.01%, and Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.01%. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was at 4.477%.

In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July fell 0.02%, to $83.36 per barrel. Brent crude oil for July was steady, near $83.36 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange dropped 0.75%, to $119.60 per metric ton.

On Tuesday’s economic agenda, the April Producer Price Index will be released at 8:30 by the Labor Department. The LSEG consensus projects a monthly rise of 0.3% and an annual base increase of 2.2%.

European markets are mixed, with investors cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data. Unemployment in the UK rose to 4.3%, while wages, excluding bonuses, increased by 6.0%. Among individual stocks, Delivery Hero (TG:DHER) jumped 22.1% after selling Foodpanda to Uber (NYSE:UBER), while Anglo American (LSE:AAL) fell 2.3% after announcing a strategic review.

Stock markets in Asia and the Pacific closed with no clear direction and modest variations this Tuesday, mirroring Wall Street’s behavior, as investors await new U.S. inflation data. The Shanghai SE Index (China) saw a slight decline of 0.07%, while the Nikkei (Japan) recorded a gain of 0.46%. The Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong) fell 0.22%, and the Kospi (South Korea) rose 0.11%. The ASX 200 (Australia) ended the day down 0.30%.

After a strong upward movement last week, U.S. stocks performed mixed on Monday. The Dow Jones fell 0.21%, closing at 39,431.51 points. The S&P 500 retreated 0.02%, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.29%. The initial strength came from optimism about interest rate cuts, but diminished after a New York Fed survey showed an increase in short- and long-term inflation expectations. One-year inflation expectations rose to 3.3%. The five-year outlook increased to 2.8%. Among individual stocks, GameStop (NYSE:GME) soared after “Roaring Kitty” posted on X for the first time in three years. Squarespace (NYSE:SQSP) also rose significantly after announcing a deal to go private in a cash transaction valued at about $6.9 billion.

Scheduled to report quarterly results before the market opens are Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), Sony (NYSE:SONY), The Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Sea (NYSE:SE), Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN), Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR), Miniso Group Holding (NYSE:MNSO), On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON), OrganiGram (NASDAQ:OGI), Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT), among others.

After the close, earnings from Nu Holdings (NYSE:NU), Nextracker (NASDAQ:NXT), Ontrak Health (NASDAQ:OTRK), Dragonfly Energy Holding (NASDAQ:DFLI), DHT Holdings (NYSE:DHT), Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM), Canoo (NASDAQ:GOEV), Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT), SilverCrest Metals (AMEX:SILV), Prestige Consumer Healthcare (NYSE:PBH), and more will be awaited.