February’s inflation data, due at 8:30 AM ET (1330 MT) will give some clues as to whether the Great Inflation Scare of 2021 is serious or not. In the month, the consumer price index (CPI) is expected to have risen 0.4%.
Moreover, the annual rate is expected to have risen to 1.7% from 1.4%. The core CPI is expected to have risen 0.2%, with the annual rate staying at 1.4%. This core strips out more volatile elements such as food and energy.
The ability of the CPI to track actual inflation is disputed. This is due to its inability to track the changes in consumer spending patterns in real time.
The numbers are sure to gain attention, though, coming ahead of the Treasury’s auction. This $38 billion auction of 10-year notes at 1 PM ET (1800 GMT) is set to be more challenging than the 3-year note sale on Tuesday.
Notably, in recent weeks, the weekly data on mortgage refinancings are likely to have suffered from the rise in long-term rates.
Tech Underperformance to Return; Oracle Earnings Due
Dow Jones futures were up 103 points, or 0.3% by 6:30 AM ET, while S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2%, following a whopping 3.7% gain on Tuesday. Bargain-hunters made their bid on battered tech stocks.
On Wednesday, U.S. stock markets are set to open mostly higher again. Although, the recent trend of tech underperformance appears to be in return.
GameStop Stock is likely to be in focus later as it rose another 25% on Monday. Up 11%, news about its online sales push reintensified the ongoing short-squeeze in the stock.
Attention will also be on whether names such as Tesla can sustain its refound momentum. It added $100 billion to its valuation on Tuesday with a 20% increase.
Oracle, a software giant, reports its earnings after the close.
Meanwhile, in China, stock markets also managed to stop the rout, briefly for a day. All of the major indices were posting gains of as much as 1%, after monthly data on credit came out stronger than anticipated.
Reports said that the authorities appeared to have banned the search term “stock market” on popular search engines. Selling sped up last week.
The broadest measure of credit growth, which is aggregate financing, grew by almost twice as much as forecast at 1.7 trillion yuan.
