Futures advance on Tesla boost, inflation data in focus

[September 11, 2023]  By Ankika Biswas and Shristi Achar A

(Reuters) -Wall Street futures gained on Monday as Tesla shares rose, while investors awaited inflation data due later this week for clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate path.

The three major indexes logged weekly declines on Friday as strength in oil prices and stronger-than-expected economic data fueled concerns of sticky inflation and interest rates staying higher for longer.

Investors now await the crucial consumer and producer prices data as well as retail sales numbers due later this week.

The consumer price data on Wednesday will indicate whether the U.S. economy is on track for a so-called soft landing that could allow the Fed to bring down inflation without sharply impacting growth.

"This could be a defining period for stocks as we get some clarity on whether the rate hiking cycle is truly at or near its end or if there is more work to do in the battle against inflation," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell in a note.

"Until the market knows where the terminal interest rate lies and what the new normal is in terms of borrowing costs, we should probably steel ourselves for further volatility."

Traders see a 93% chance of the central bank holding its interest rates at current levels in the September meeting, while their odds for a pause in November stand at 55.4%, according to CME FedWatch Tool.

Fed officials have entered a blackout period, during which they usually do not make public comments, until the policy decision outcome on Sept. 20.

At 7:04 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 81 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 19.5 points, or 0.44%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 96.75 points, or 0.63%.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Tesla climbed 6.4% in premarket trading as Morgan Stanley upgraded the EV maker to "overweight" from "equal-weight" due to potential growth in its market value from Dojo, the firm's supercomputer.

Apple edged up 0.8% following a near 6% decline last week on China's restrictions of iPhone usage for government officials, ahead of its fall event on Sept. 12.

Hostess Brands jumped 14.9% as Jif peanut butter maker J.M. Smucker is nearing a deal to buy the Twinkies snack cakes owner for close to $5 billion, according to sources.

Shares of Boeing rose 1.4% after the White House said that Vietnam Airlines' deal to buy 50 737 Max jets from the planemaker was worth $7.8 billion.

Data over the weekend showed China's consumer prices returned to positive territory in August, while factory-gate price declines slowed, as deflation pressures ease amid signs of stabilization in the economy.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms PDD Holdings, Xpeng, Baidu rose between 1.9% and 4.7%, while the iShares China Large-Cap ETF gained 1.4%.

Meta Platforms added 1.3% after a report on Sunday said the firm was working on a new, more powerful artificial-intelligence system.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Vinay Dwivedi)

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