Stock futures are flat as traders await inflation reading, evaluate bank earnings: Live updates

Stock futures were little changed on Friday morning, as investors looked ahead to a wholesale inflation reading. JPMorgan Chase shares rose as the bank kicked of third-quarter reporting season.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 were down slightly, while Nasdaq 100 futures ticked down by 0.2%. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 1 point higher.

The action follows a losing day for the major averages, with the S&P 500 and the 30-stock Dow pulling back from their records in Thursday’s session. The broad market index slipped 0.2%, while the Dow lost about 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite posted a slight decline of 0.05%.

Fresh data issued on Thursday raised investors’ fears that inflation wasn’t cooling off quickly enough. September’s consumer price index rose 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.4% from a year earlier. Those results topped the 0.1% monthly advance and 2.3% year-over-year gain economists polled by Dow Jones anticipated.

Fed funds futures trading suggests a roughly 87% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will dial back interest rates by a quarter point in November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. However, central bank policymakers will keep a close eye on additional data, which will shape their course on rates.

“The data isn’t compelling enough to deter the Fed from cutting entirely in November,” said Preston Caldwell, senior U.S. economist at Morningstar. “But further data like this (as well as strong data on economic activity) could induce a skip in the December 2024 or January 2025 meetings.”

Indeed, another catalyst awaits on Friday morning: the producer price index, a measure of wholesale prices. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the PPI index to have risen 0.1% in September on a monthly basis. Excluding food and energy costs, they forecast a 0.2% advance.

JPMorgan Chase shares gained after the bank topped profit and revenue expectations for the third quarter. The bank reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, well ahead of the consensus $4.01 estimate from analysts polled by LSEG. JPMorgan was up about 2% in premarket trading.

Wells Fargo‘s results however fell short. The bank reported $20.37 billion in revenue for the third quarter, just below the $20.42 billion estimate from analysts polled by LSEG. Wells Fargo shares were higher nonetheless, up 3%.

The major averages are heading into the final day of the week with modest gains. The S&P 500 is up 0.5% week to date, while the Dow is toting a 0.2% gain. The Nasdaq is the outperformer of the three, up 0.8% in the period.