S&P, Nasdaq futures slightly higher ahead of inflation reading
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November CPI data due 8:30 a.m. ET
GameStop rises after reporting Q3 profit
Macy's drops after annual adjusted profit forecast cut
Futures: Dow down 0.09%, S&P 500 up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.16%
Updates prices throughout
By Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan
Dec 11 (Reuters) -Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were slightly higher on Wednesday, as most megacap stocks rose, while all eyes were on a key inflation reading that could influence the Federal Reserve's move on interest rates.
A November reading of the consumer price index (CPI), due at 8:30 a.m. ET, is among the final major datasets ahead of the Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting.
The report is expected to show that headline inflation rose 0.3% on a monthly basis and to 2.7% on an annual basis in the last month, still above the Fed's 2% target.
The core figure, which excludes volatile components such as food and energy, is expected to remain unchanged at 3.3% year-on-year.
The inflation rate has been rising again gradually since October and "an end to this short-term upward trend would be necessary to confirm the expectation of three interest rate cuts in the next six months," Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, wrote in a note.
"The Fed wants to see further progress and does not yet consider the fight against inflation to be over. As long as the labor market does not cool down faster, it has time to continue monitoring the situation."
Trader bets currently price in an over 86% chance of the central bank delivering a 25 basis point cut next week, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Bets had jumped following Friday's employment report, which showed an uptick in unemployment alongside a surge in job growth.
At 7:04 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 38 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 5.75 points, or 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 34.5 points, or 0.16%.
Wall Street's main indexes ended the previous session lower, weighed down by heavyweight technology stocks, yet the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC were near record levels.
U.S. equities have had a broadly positive start to December, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq clocking gains in their first week, after ending November on a strong note.
Also expected thisweek is a producer prices reading on Thursday.
Most megacap and growth stocks moved higher in premarket trading, with Alphabet GOOGL.O, Nvidia NVDA.O and Tesla TSLA.O rising more than 1% each.
Among other movers, GameStop GME.N gained 3% after the videogame retailer reported a profit for the third quarter on cost-saving efforts.
General Motors GM.N was up 1.5% after the automaker said on Tuesday that it wouldend robotaxi development at its majority-owned, money-losing Cruise business.
GE Vernova GE.N slipped 1.7%as the company's chief executive officer said he was cautious about the outlook for its wind sector even though it had resumed installing turbines at two offshore wind farms.
Macy's M.N slumped 9.3% after the department-store bellwethercut its annual profit forecast.
Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Anil D'Silva
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