This live blog is refreshed throughout the day with the latest updates from the market. To find the latest Stock Market Today threads, click here.Happy Thursday. Stock futures were mixed and oil prices were climbing as investors look to several key inflation reports.
August’s producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation, comes out this morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a monthly gain of 0.3% and a 5.3% advance year over year.
Weekly initial jobless claims and August existing home sales are also scheduled to be released this morning. The consumer price index follows on Friday, with the Dow Jones consensus calling for a 0.4% monthly increase in August and a 12-month increase of 3.4%.
Oracle (ORCL), Adobe (ADBE), and Macy’s (M) are among the companies scheduled to report earnings today.
Stocks finished lower Wednesday, pulled down by rising oil prices and climbing Treasury yields.
“Another rise in oil prices kept a lid on Wall Street as escalating tensions between the US and Iran raise the risk of a deeper and more protracted conflict between the two countries,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.
“Brent crude pushed through the $100 per barrel mark, with market participants discounting the heightened risk that military activity in the region will imperil energy assets and that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will extend even further into the future.”
While geopolitical risk will continue to drive volatility across markets, Rodda said attention will shift to macroeconomic fundamentals to round out the week.
“Price data out of the US – first PPI on Thursday and then CPI on Friday – could be the make-or-break factor between a US Federal Reserve that keeps rates unchanged next week and one that hikes them,” he added.