US stock futures rise as traders brace for July inflation data

Wall Street’s pre-market mood is cautiously optimistic, but S&P 500 futures climbed 0.2% ahead of the opening bell, with Nasdaq-100 futures pulling their weight thanks to resilience in technology shares. Oil prices slipped lower. That is when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases July’s Consumer Price Index reading at 8:30 a.m. ET on August 12. One number, one release window, and enough potential market-moving power to rewrite the Federal Reserve’s September playbook. Where things stand going into the print The Fed held its benchmark federal funds rate steady at 3.5% to 3.75% at its July meeting, but the vote was not exactly a show of unity. Three members dissented, each pushing for a 25 basis point increase. Markets are now pricing in a 44% probability of a September rate hike. The most recent CPI reading, for June, showed headline inflation cooling to 3.5% year-over-year, down from 4.2% in May. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, came in at 2.6%. Then came the July jobs report, which complicated the picture considerably. Nonfarm payrolls declined by 23,000 last month, a figure that ran directly against expectations for positive job growth. What the inflation number ...