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U.S. equity futures edge higher in early Tuesday trading, while the dollar held steady against its global peers, as investors looked to a twin set of inflation readings over the coming days that could test the market’s surprise May rally.
Stocks ended mixed yesterday, with the Nasdaq eking out a modest 0.29% advance and the Dow snapping its eight-day winning streak, as meme stock mania dominated the headlines with a 74.4% surge in GameStop (GME) .
Shares in the money-losing game retailer were back on the move in premarket dealing, rising another 46.8%, as investors reacted to the first social media messages in nearly three years from Keith Gill, an influential retail investor known online as ‘Roaring Kitty’.
Related: GameStop rockets, pounding short sellers, as ‘Roaring Kitty’ returns
In mainstream markets, however, focus will remain firmly on the inflation story, with the Commerce Department publishing its official estimate of factory gate prices prior to the start of trading and a host of Fed speakers, including Chairman Jerome Powell, set to make public remarks throughout the trading session.
Powell is set to speak at the Foreign Bankers’ Association meeting in Amsterdam at 10:00 am Eastern time.
Today’s PPI report, which is expected to show a modest uptick in producer price pressures, will precede tomorrow’s crucial April CPI inflation report, which is expected to show an overall easing in consumer price pressures.
Wall Street will be firmly focused on two key inflation readings over the next two sessions, including a crucial April CPI report tomorrow.
“Whilst the market expects headline CPI to fall only to 3.4%, from 3.5% last month, recent surveys have signaled rising inflation expectations amongst consumers, as the recent pick-up in inflation feeds through to the consumer psyche, an effect which often become self-fulfilling,” said Lindsay James, an investment strategist at London-based Quilter Investors.
“We are likely to hear more cautious messaging from the Federal Reserve as a result, in a blow to President Biden on a day when new polls have shown Donald Trump retains his lead in almost all the swing states,” he added.
President Biden, meanwhile, unveiled a fresh round of tariffs aimed at around $18 billion worth of China made imports, including electric vehicles, semiconductors and medical supplies that his administration said were “underpriced due to unfair practices”.
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts suggest a 3 point move to the upside for the S&P 500 and a 37 point gain for the Dow.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 10 points higher.
Home Depot (HD) share were a notable early mover, slipping 0.9% after the home improvement retailer posted a mixed set of first quarter earnings including a big decline in same store sales.
Walmart (WMT) shares were marked 0.15% higher ahead of its first quarter earnings report slated for May 16, with analysts expecting a bottom line of 54 cents per share on revenues of $157.83 billion.
More Wall Street Analysts:
Analyst unveils new Nike price target ahead of big summer for sportsAnalysts weigh in on Google-parent Alphabet’s stock after cloud eventAnalysts revamp Disney stock price target after proxy fight
In overseas markets, Europe’s Stoxx 600 was marked 0.05% higher in early Frankfurt trading, while Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.06% in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.46% in Tokyo while the region-wide MSCI ex-Japan index was marked 0.23% higher into the close of trading.
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