Stock futures fall
US stock futures edged lower following the release of a stronger-than-expected January consumer price index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 83 points or 0.22%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.
The Dow fell in the trading session, closing 156 points higher. The S&P 500 was relatively flat, down 0.041%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shook off earlier losses to close 0.58% higher.
January’s inflation data came in slightly above economists’ estimates, pointing to a potentially longer path for the Federal Reserve to combat rising prices. The consumer price index rose 0.53% for the month and 6.43% from a year earlier, compared to estimates of 0.45% for the month and 6.25% for the year.
While inflation remains above the Fed’s target of 2.4%, the higher-than-expected readings were not entirely surprising.
Investors also look to the latest retail sales data to gauge consumer demand.
Strategists at Ned Davis Research noted that the market’s strong start — with the S&P 500, up 7.8% in 2023 — has brought some investors on the sidelines after a tumultuous 2022.
UK inflation fell to 10.12% in January from 10.56% in December.
European stocks mixed
European stock markets traded mixed on Wednesday, with investors eyeing inflation data from the US and the UK and banking giant Barclays reporting a sharp drop in annual profit. Germany’s DAX rose 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.24%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.33%.
Data released earlier on Wednesday showed Britain’s consumer price inflation fell more than expected to 10.12% in January from 10.53% in December, giving some hope that price rises that have hit the living standards of the country’s families have been averted.
The Bank of England will announce another rise in borrowing costs next month, but the figures have fueled expectations that a peak in the central bank’s interest rates is not far off.
Back in Europe, investors will focus on European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde’s speech later in the session, while December’s Eurozone industrial production figures will be on the lookout for.
In the corporate sector, Barclays shares fell more than 7.4% after the British bank reported a significant 14.4% drop in annual profit, hit by a £1.6bn lawsuit over agreed limits on the sale of investment products in the US by excess.
Glencore was also in the spotlight after the trading and mining company announced a solid return of $7 billion to its investors and a record 2022 trading profit thanks to higher oil and coal prices.
