Futures are rising as U.S. markets struggle to end the week in positive territory ahead of the second day of new inflation data.
Dow Jones Industrial futures climbed 0.2% to 53,978.00,while futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% to 7,784.50 and futures for the Nasdaq climbed 0.1% to 29,877.25. All three have dipped this week.
The Labor Department will release its producer price index on Thursday, which captures inflation before it reaches consumers and can provide hints about where prices will go. It comes a day after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices increased 3.4% in July from a year ago, down slightly from 3.5% in June. Inflation had fallen to 2.4% before the Iran war. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1% from June to July.
Technology shares are rising early Thursday despite a 6% decline for Cisco Systems after it posted fourth quarter financial results. The company beat all around and its sales have surged on demand for artificial intelligence, but investors may be taking profits with the company’s stock already up 61% this year.
AI stocks have been volatile of late. Investors want to see proof that the big spending by tech companies will pay off.
Shares of Netflix are up almost 2% before the bell after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square revealed a sizable stake in the streaming company. The investment firm backed out of a $1 billion stake several years ago after losing hundreds of millions of dollars, but said in a new disclosure that it believes Netflix has now “effectively won the streaming wars.”
In global markets, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.2% to 8,694.25, while the German DAX added 0.5% to 26,465.94. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.3% to 10,800.26.
In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 advanced 1.2% to finish at 68,308.59.
In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 3.6%, climbing to 6,813.34, as shares in Samsung Electronics surged 4.9%. Computer chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 9%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.2% to 25,396.51.
Benchmark U.S. crude slipped $2.13 to $81.50 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell $2.02 to $87.18 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 159.34 Japanese yen from 159.37 yen. The euro cost $1.1536, up from $1.1526. Foreign exchange fluctuations have been in focus after the U.S. and Japan recently jointly intervened to prop up the yen. Although the dollar has fallen slightly against the yen, it still remains above 150 yen.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
