(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell slightly on Wednesday as a rise in Treasury yields weighed on rate-sensitive stocks, ahead of crucial inflation data that will provide more signals about the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
All three major Wall Street indexes closed lower on Tuesday as the strong post-US election rally lost some momentum, while US 10-year Treasury yields rose above 4.4% on expectations that policies of newly-elected President Donald Trump could worsen. inflation.
With investors seeing a 66% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed’s December meeting, October consumer price index data will be closely watched to see if inflationary pressures ease, according to CME FedWatch.
Economists polled by Reuters see core inflation rising 0.3% and the headline rate up 0.2% on a monthly basis. CPI data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
At 5:35 a.m. ET, the Dow E-minis were down 60 points, or 0.14 percent, the S&P 500 E-minis were down 8.5 points, or 0.14 percent, and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down with 28.25 points or 0.13%.
Most rate-sensitive mega-cap stocks were lower in premarket trading, with Meta Platforms down 0.5% and Microsoft losing 0.4%.
However, EV maker Tesla gained 2.6% after closing down 6.2% in the previous session.
Futures tracking interest-sensitive small-cap companies also fell 0.1%.
Despite the declines in the last session, Wall Street has been largely optimistic in recent days. Trump’s pro-business stance and possible tax cuts were expected to boost business growth, even as concerns remain about higher rates and inflation.
The S&P 500 is up about 3.5% since the close on Nov. 5 and is on track for a gain of more than 25% this year.
A monthly survey of Bank of America fund managers found that global investors are seeing higher growth than before in the wake of the US election results, as well as higher inflation.
Shares of Spirit Airlines fell 64.4% after a report that the US carrier is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection, while the company said it was in talks with creditors.
EV maker Rivian rose 14.2% after Volkswagen increased its investment in the company by 16% to $5.8 billion on Tuesday.
Amgen rose 3.2% after the company said there was no link between its experimental weight-loss drug and changes in bone mineral density, after data from an early-stage study weighed on the stock during the previous session.
Fed officials Lorie Logan, Alberto Musalem and Jeffrey Schmid will speak later in the day.
(Reporting by Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
