US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday as chipmaking equipment giant ASML sent a bullish signal on artificial intelligence demand, while investors digested a second batch of key inflation data following Tuesday's softer-than-expected consumer price report. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above the flat line, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% and Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.5%, as markets looked to build on the previous session's gains. Tech stocks received a significant boost in premarket trading after ASML lifted its annual sales forecast above Wall Street expectations, citing robust AI demand.
The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker also announced plans to increase its chipmaking equipment production capacity by 30%, a move that helped ease growing concerns about potential bottlenecks in the global chip supply chain. On the inflation front, the Producer Price Index showed that wholesale inflation slowed at a quicker-than-expected pace in June, reinforcing the cooler price growth narrative already established by Tuesday's Consumer Price Index data, which recorded the largest single-month decline in inflation since April 2020. Geopolitical tensions provided a counterweight to the positive momentum, as President Trump signaled plans to intensify attacks on Iran.
"We're going to knock out all of their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate," Trump told Fox News on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg, pushing oil prices higher. Market attention will also be focused on the Federal Reserve's Beige Book release and Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh's second day of testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, which could offer fresh signals on the monetary policy outlook. Earnings season continued to gather pace, with major financial firms Morgan Stanley and BlackRock both scheduled to report results.
Healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson and United Airlines Holdings were also set to release their quarterly figures, adding further catalysts to an already eventful trading session. Source: Yahoo Finance, reporting by Grace O'Donnell.
Source: finance.yahoo.com