Futures Move To The Upside Following Consumer Price Data

Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Tuesday, regaining ground following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.6 percent.

The futures advanced following the release of the Labor Department’s highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in the month of February.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in February after rising by 0.3 percent in January. The increase matched economist estimates.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also rose by 0.4 percent in February, matching the increase seen in January. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth ticked up to 3.2 percent in February from 3.1 percent in January. The year-over-year growth was expected to be unchanged.

Meanwhile, the annual rate of core consumer price growth slowed to 3.8 percent in February from 3.9 percent in January. Economists had expected the pace of growth to decelerate to 3.7 percent.

While core price growth slowed by slightly less than expected, the slowdown may still add to optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Treasury yields saw considerable volatility immediately following the release of the report but have moved modestly lower since then.

After coming under pressure over the course of last Friday’s session, stocks saw further downside in early trading on Monday. The major averages regained ground as the day progressed, however, with the Dow closing modestly higher.

While the Dow inched up 46.97 points or 0.1 percent to 38,769.66 after falling nearly 240 points in early trading, the S&P 500 edged down 5.75 points or 0.1 percent to 5,117.94 and the Nasdaq fell 65.84 points or 0.4 percent to 16,019.27.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index soared by 3.1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has jumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.05 to $77.88 a barrel after edging down $0.08 to $77.93 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after inching up $3.10 to $2,188.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are dipping $6.20 to $2,182.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.26 yen compared to the 146.95 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0932 compared to yesterday’s $1.0926.