Futures rise ahead of JPMorgan results, inflation data

[October 13, 2021]  (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday ahead of quarterly results from JPMorgan which will kick off the corporate earnings season, with investors awaiting inflation data for clues on the future path of monetary policy.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 12, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Mega-caps growth names including Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Google-parent Alphabet Microsoft Corp, and Tesla rose more than 0.5% each and led the gains in premarket trading.

JPMorgan, down 0.1%, is set to issue its third-quarter results, with analysts expecting a strong profit as the U.S. economy recovers from the pandemic-induced shock.

Wall Street ended lower in choppy trading on Tuesday, as investors grew jittery in the run-up to earnings amid worries about supply chain problems and higher prices affecting businesses emerging from the pandemic.

Focus is also on inflation data, due at 0830 a.m. ET, which could further test the U.S. central bankers divided over how much of a threat high inflation poses, and, more importantly, what they might need to do about it.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting, due later in the day, will also be scrutinized for signals that the days of crisis-era policy were numbered.

"A strong inflation will only reinforce the expectation that the Fed would start tapering its bond purchases by next month, that's already priced in," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

"Yet, a too strong figure could boost expectations of an earlier rate hike from the Fed and that is not necessarily fully priced in."

At 6:23 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 35 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 72.5 points, or 0.49%.

Meanwhile, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval to legislation temporarily raising the government's borrowing limit to $28.9 trillion, averting a debt default later this month.

Among stocks, Apple Inc fell 0.7% after a report said the iPhone marker was planning to cut production of its iPhone 13 by as many as 10 million units due to the global chip shortage.

Monster Beverage slipped 1.6% after Jefferies downgraded the beverage maker's stock to "hold" from "buy".

Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc gained 2.1% on a new $10 billion stock buyback plan.

(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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