U.S. stock futures rose ahead of earnings reports from major companies and as investors considered the highest inflation in four decades.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 climbed 0.4%, pointing to the broad-market index recouping losses after it closed down 0.3% on Tuesday. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.6%, suggesting gains in technology stocks after the opening bell.
Both VIX and VIXmain fell over 2%.
Gold rose 0.3% and reached $1982.3.
Stocks have come under pressure in recent days as concerns about inflation drove uncertainty about how aggressively the Federal Reserve could act to temper it. A data release on Tuesday showed thatconsumer prices accelerated further in March, rising 8.5% from a year earlier. The monthly increase was in line with economists’ expectations and core inflation which excludes food and energy was slightly lower than predicted, according to Deutsche Bank.
“The inflation data was obviously not great, but maybe we’re around the peak and we’ll start to see something of a disinflationary trend over the coming months,” said Esty Dwek, chief investment officer at FlowBank. “With bank earnings kicking off, we can get some direction. It’s really going to be about the guidance that we get for the rest of the year.”
JPMorgan,BlackRock, Delta Air Lines and Bed Bath & Beyond are slated to report Wednesday ahead of the opening bell.Goldman Sachs,Citigroup,Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are set to follow on Thursday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note edged up to 2.760% from 2.724% on Tuesday, resuming its march upward afterdecliningthe day before. Yields rise when prices fall.
Oil prices edged up, with global benchmark Brent crude adding 0.6% to trade at $105.24 a barrel. Traders are assessing energy demand in China, as some lockdown measures in Shanghai eased but more factories in the region, including two run by Apple suppliers,halted production.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 was flat. British supermarket chainTescodeclined 5.3% after it said it expects lower profit as rising prices change shoppers’ habits.
European government bonds sold off with the benchmark German 10-year bond yield rising to 0.828%. The European Central Bank is meeting on Thursday and investors are awaiting more clarity on plans to curb stimulus measures.
“ECB speakers have turned a little bit more hawkish lately,” said Jeremy Gatto, a multiasset investment manager at Unigestion. “They seem now to be agreeing that inflation might be a concern. It’s difficult to get excited about Europe.”
Russian PresidentVladimir Putinsaid Tuesday thatpeace talks had reached a dead endand that his forces would continue their offensive in Ukraine.
In Asia, major benchmarks were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ticked up 0.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9%. The yen depreciated 0.6% against the dollar, reaching a 20-year low. It traded at around 126 yen to $1. The Bank of Japan’s governor reiterated on Wednesday that monetary policy will remain easy.
The U.S. producer-price index for March, another gauge of inflation, is set to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.