Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Slip As September CPI Data Looms, Tesla On Radar Ahead Of Robotaxi Event: Strategist Offers Stock Tips Aligned With Presidential Candidates' Trade Policies

The imminent release of the September consumer price inflation report is keeping sentiment guarded as the index futures trade modestly lower early Thursday. Traders may have to navigate past the September consumer price inflation report and the weekly jobless claims data, both of which have implications for rates. The inflation data is widely expected to confirm the sustained downtrend, while jobless claims may have perked up in the recent week.

China announced stimulus to support the domestic stock market, which sent stocks in the mainland and Hong Kong higher. Crude oil and gold are all weaker but the bond yield has ticked. Traders may stay focused on the after-effects of Hurricane Milton and the simmering tensions in the Middle East.

Futures

Performance (+/-)

Nasdaq 100

-0.15%

S&P 500

-0.12%

Dow

-0.09%

R2K

-0.24%

In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) edged down 0.13% to $576.41 and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) moved down 0.16% to $492.35, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

Strength in IT, financial, industrial and healthcare stocks pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index to fresh records on Wednesday. The S&P 500 Index also clocked a new intraday high. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also rose, it ended at its highest level since July 16.

Stocks largely ignored the Hurricane Milton threat, which made its landfall in Florida, and digested comments from Fed officials and also information gleaned out of the Fed minutes.

Among S&P 500 sector classes, only ...