U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday, after the major averages snapped a three-day decline, as traders await key inflation data slated for release later in the week.
S&P 500 futures gained about 0.2%, while Nasdaq-100 futures nudged higher by nearly 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 117 points, or 0.3%.
Investors are coming off a positive session for the major averages. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 209.52 points, or 0.62%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.24%. The Nasdaq Composite lagged, rising just 0.18%.
The June consumer price index report set for release Wednesday, as well as the June producer price index due out Thursday, will shed light on whether the decline in inflation has continued, and create the backdrop for future direction of interest rates.
Investors have penciled in another quarter-point increase at the Federal Reserve’s July 25-26 meeting. But they are undecided about what the central bank will do at its September meeting after last week’s continued robust jobs data raised concern that policymakers will revert to raising rates following the June pause.
“The pause, agree or disagree, is to gather more information,” Solus Alternative Asset Management’s Dan Greenhaus said Monday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” He added, “One more hike or two more hikes is much less important than when, ultimately, they begin to cut rates on the other side of this. That’s much more consequential for, I think, the risk landscape than one more hike or two more hikes.”
On the economic front, June’s NFIB Small Business Index, a measure of business confidence, is set for release Tuesday before the bell. Economists polled by Dow Jones are anticipating a reading of 90.0, slightly higher than the 89.4 level in May.
Second-quarter earnings season kicks off later this week with results from “systemically important financial institutions” such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, plus BlackRock, PepsiCo and Delta Air. Dow component UnitedHealth reports Friday.
