United States stock futures traded little changed on Wednesday night (Thursday AEST), holding near record highs as Wall Street awaited crucial consumer inflation data.
By 8:50 am AEST (10:50 pm GMT), futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 were all fluctuating within a tight ±0.1% range.
In extended trading, Oxford Industries saw its shares jump 16.8% after the Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer owner reported stronger-than-expected earnings. The company also said tariffs were likely to have a smaller financial impact this fiscal year than previously forecast.
The muted futures action followed another record-setting session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each closed at all-time highs, while the Dow Jones slipped 0.5%.
Oracle shares soared 36% on the day, their biggest single-session gain since 1992, after the company outlined robust growth expectations for its cloud business. The move added $244 billion to its market capitalisation.
Investors viewed the performance as a strong signal for the broader artificial intelligence trade, with AI-related stocks such as Broadcom, AMD, and Micron also rallying.
Among data releases, producer price index data showed an unexpected monthly decline of 0.1%. On a 12-month basis, the PPI rose 2.6%.
ANZ analysts remarked: "All in all, the data add to the case for further Fed easing."
President Donald Trump echoed calls for aggressive monetary stimulus, posting: "No Inflation!!! ‘Too Late’ must lower the RATE, BIG, right now. Powell is a total disaster, who doesn’t have a clue!!!"
Attention now turns to Thursday’s release of the August consumer price index, with markets expecting a 0.3% monthly rise, equating to an annual increase of 2.9%.
The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, is expected to rise 0.3% month-on-month and 3.1% from a year earlier.
Traders will also track weekly jobless claims and federal budget figures on Thursday, alongside corporate earnings reports from Kroger before the opening bell and Adobe after the market close.
