Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Oct. 22, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures are little changed Thursday night ahead of a key inflation print.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18 points, or 0.04%. S&P futures ticked up 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added almost 0.2%.
In after-hours trading, Intel shares popped 7% after the chipmaker reported third-quarter sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates. Target shares rose marginally after the retailer announced it would slash its corporate workforce by 8%, marking its first major layoff in a decade. Applied Materials and Rivian also announced layoffs.
The three major U.S. indexes ended the previous session higher, driven by inflows into tech stocks and bullish sentiment heading into the heat of third-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500 rose nearly 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 144 points, or 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, closing the day 0.9% higher as heavyweight AI stocks such as Nvidia and Oracle got a boost.
Investors are awaiting Friday’s release of the September consumer price index report, which could be a market-moving event given the lack of federal data being released amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. Wall Street will be watching for any signs of inflation cooling or getting hotter, and if tariffs are affecting consumer prices.
The CPI, which was supposed to be released Oct. 15, will be the last economic reading before the Federal Reserve’s October meeting next week. Markets widely expect the Fed to lower interest rates by another quarter percentage point.
“Markets remain cautious, as the lack of clean economic data adds uncertainty for both the Fed and investors,” said Vishal Khanduja, head of broad markets fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. “Until more reliable data emerges, the Fed is likely to adhere to market-priced expectations, though Friday’s CPI should provide greater clarity. The impact of tariffs creeping into inflation will be key.”
Stocks are on pace to notch weekly gains, after Thursday’s moves erased Wednesday’s losses. The S&P 500 is tracking for a 1.1% gain, while the Nasdaq and the 30-stock Dow are up nearly 1.2% week to date.
