Wall Street set for muted open after July inflation report
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Kellanova jumps after Mars to buy co in $36 bln deal
U.S. CPI rises as expected in July
Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.1%
Updated at 08:51 a.m. ET/1251 GMT
By Medha Singh and Shashwat Chauhan
Aug 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a muted open on Wednesday after data showed inflation was moderating as expected, cementing wagers thatthe U.S. FederalReserve was on track to start its policy easing cycle next month.
Futures were volatile after theLabor Department data showed U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2% as expected in July, taking the headline inflation to 2.9% year-on-year from 3% in June, below economists' expectations of 3% growth.
Bets on rate cuts were largely unchanged after the data, with traders almost evenly split between a 25 bps rate cut or a more hefty 50 bps cut at the Fed's Sept. 17-18 meeting, as per the CME FedWatch Tool.
"We don't know whether it's going to be 25 or 50, but I don't think inflation's going to determine that. It's going to be the growth-oriented economic statistics, particularly the labor statistics and payrolls," said Jack McIntyre, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global.
Both the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC clocked their fourth straight session of gains on Tuesday following softer-than-expected producer prices data that indicated inflation continued to moderate, although it is yet to reach the U.S. central bank's 2% target.
A rebound in megacap and technology stocks have helped markets recoup most of their losses from a global market rout earlier this month that was partly caused by data showing a surge in U.S. unemployment rate in July.
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Tuesday he wants to see "a little more data" before he's ready to support lowering interest rates.
"We anticipate the Fed will cut rates in September, primarily due to the rising unemployment rate and as a precaution against a potential recession," said Stefan Koopman, senior macro strategist at Rabobank.
At 8:51 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 3 points, or 0.01%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.07% to 5,463 points and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 17 points, or 0.09%.
The Cboe volatility index .VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, stayed below its long term average of 20 points for the second day at 17.49 afterhitting its highest since 2020 just last week.
AI stocks Nvidia NVDA.O, Super Micro SMCI.O and Dell DELL.N rose between 1.7% and 2.3% in premarket trading, looking to continue their rally to the third straight session, while other megacap and growth stocks edged lower.
Google-parent Alphabet GOOGL.O slipped 1.1% aftera media report said the U.S. Department of Justice is considering options that include breaking up the online search engine.
Kellanova K.N surged almost 7.4% after family-owned candy giant Mars said it would buy the Cheez-It and Pringles maker in a nearly $36 billion deal.
Cardinal Health CAH.N gained 6.3% after the drug distributor raised its2025 profit forecast.
Reporting by Medha Singh and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
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