Futures subdued in cautious trading ahead of inflation data

[September 08, 2023]  By Shristi Achar A and Amruta Khandekar

(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Friday as investors awaited a fresh inflation reading next week after recent economic data stoked worries interest rates could remain higher for longer.

Stronger-than-expected services activity data and a fall in weekly jobless claims have dented investor sentiment, dragging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 1.4% and 2% lower so far this week, respectively.

The Consumer Price Index reading for August is due on Sept. 13, while the Federal Reserve's policy decision is scheduled for Sept. 20.

"While our base case is for no further hikes in this cycle, we expect economic uncertainty to keep equity markets volatile and range-bound in the coming months," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Traders see a 93% chance of interest rates staying at current levels in September, while pricing in a 55.4% chance for a pause in rate hikes in the November meeting, according to CME FedWatch Tool.

Shares of Apple were flat in premarket trading after a two-day selloff following news that Beijing had ordered central government employees in recent weeks to stop using iPhones at workplaces.

Another report on Friday said China was expanding iPhone restrictions to local governments and state-owned companies.

Wall Street analysts see a small hit to Apple's revenue this year from the curbs, with Morgan Stanley saying the worst case scenario was a 4% drop.

At 7:07 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 30 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 4.25 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 22 points, or 0.14%.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Investors also digested mixed commentary from several Fed speakers on Thursday.

New York Fed President John Williams kept his options open over future interest rate policy and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said while it "could be appropriate" to skip a rate hike in the upcoming meeting, more policy tightening might be needed.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly is due to speak later in the day.

Among individual stocks, Faraday Future Intelligent Electric jumped 9.0% before the bell. The electric-vehicle maker said there were efforts to spread misinformation about the company and manipulate market sentiment.

Adobe rose 1.8% after Mizuho upgraded the software firm to "buy" from "neutral".

DocuSign added 3.1% as the e-Signature product provider beat second-quarter results estimates and raised its annual revenue forecast.

GameStop fell 2.3% on a report that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the videogame retailer's chairman, Ryan Cohen.

(Reporting by Shristi Achar A and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Vinay Dwivedi)

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