US pre-open: Futures lower ahead of September CPI

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Thursday as market participants patiently awaited the release of September's consumer price index. As of 1245 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.07%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.13% and 0.17% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 431.63 points higher on Wednesday, registering another fresh record high after traders thumbed over minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.

Thursday's primary focus will be September's CPI report, with market participants hoping to see further signs that inflation has continued to cool and was heading towards the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Economists expect to see a month-on-month increase of 0.1% and a 2.3% annual uptick.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "Today brings a fresh focus on US inflation, with the recent surge in energy pushing inflation expectations higher. On this occasion, markets are looking for a fresh decline that could take headline CPI to 2.3%.

"Nonetheless, the record highs seen for US markets does highlight a confidence that we can maintain the sweet spot of low inflation and a relatively strong US economy. The inflation element remains the key to market stability, and thus any particular spike in price pressures could see all the current monetary policy expectations undermined entirely."

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims figures will also be released at 1330 BST, while the Federal Government's September budget statement will be published at 1900 BST.

In the corporate space, Delta Air Lines was slated to report earnings on Thursday morning.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com