U.S. Stocks May Open On Mixed Note; Inflation Data In Focus

Data on U.S. consumer price inflation is likely to set the trend for U.S. stocks Tuesday morning. Major index futures are currently little changed from previous levels, indicating a somewhat flat start.

Data on consumer price inflation for the month of August is due out at 8:30 AM ET. The consumer price index climbed by 0.5 percent in July after jumping by 0.9 percent in June. June’s reading was the biggest increase since June of 2008.

Stocks moved mostly higher on Monday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 both snapping five-session losing streaks. The Nasdaq bucked the uptrend, however, as the tech-heavy index closed lower for the fourth straight session.

The Dow climbed 261.91 points or 0.8 percent to 34,869.63 and the S&P 500 rose 10.15 points or 0.2 percent to 4,468.73. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq climbed off its worst levels but still edged down 9.91 points or 0.1 percent to 15,105.58.

Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Monday reported a first-quarter profit that trumped Wall Street estimates, driven by continued demand for cloud services and other software. However, revenues for the quarter fell shy of analysts expectations.

Oracle reported first-quarter profit of $2.46 billion or $0.86 per share, up from $2.25 billion or $0.72 per share last year. Revenues for the quarter rose 4% to $9.73 billion from $9.37 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $9.77 billion.

Apple Inc. (APPL) will be in focus. The company is expected to announce new versions of the iPhone, the Apple Watch and Airpods.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited U.S inflation data for more clues on the health of the world’s largest economy and when the Federal Reserve could start rolling back easy credit and other stimulus.

European stocks are largely subdued with investors making cautious moves, looking ahead to U.S. inflation data for hints on monetary policy outlook.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are continuing to move higher. WTI crude futures for October are up $0.30 or 0.43% at $70.75 a barrel.