Wall Street’s main indexes were poised for a solid start on Friday, as investors welcomed a cooler-than-expected inflation reading, while Intel’s upbeat results offered a boost.
U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in September, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates again next week.
With the government shutdown now in its 24th day, this inflation print may be the only clear signal for policymakers ahead of their decision, as key data such as jobs figures remain obscured, heightening concerns within the Fed.
Traders have accelerated their expectations for interest rate cuts, now anticipating three quarter-point reductions by March, compared to April previously.
“It’s quite positive (the data) and going forward, it certainly clears the way for the Fed to cut rates next week and certainly leads to a higher expectation of at least two more rate cuts (by March),” said Eric Gerster, chief investment officer at AlphaCore Wealth Advisory.
Intel shares jumped 5.9% in premarket trading after the chip giant smashed third-quarter profit estimates, adding to a wave of upbeat U.S. earnings.
Peers rose too, with AMD and Micron Technology gaining 3.2% and 2.7%, respectively.
Intel’s beat set the tone for a blockbuster week ahead, with five of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ tech titans – including Apple and Microsoft – on deck to report amid the ongoing AI gold rush.
Wall Street stumbles on Netflix results
Investors found a glimmer of reassurance as Procter & Gamble topped first-quarter estimates — a modest but meaningful signal that consumer appetite for everyday essentials remains intact.
Its shares rose 3.5%.
Earlier this week, Tesla and Netflix reported lackluster results, which had left investors wanting more.
At 08:39 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 209 points, or 0.45%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 41.25 points, or 0.61%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 221.75 points, or 0.88%.
Futures tracking the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 index rose 1.5%.
Global markets found a moment of calm after the White House confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week during his Asia tour.
The long-anticipated encounter between the two leaders comes amid simmering trade tensions that have kept investors on edge, with tit-for-tat tariffs and export restrictions rattling sentiment in recent weeks. News of the meeting offered a glimmer of hope for de-escalation.
Meanwhile, Trump terminated all trade talks with Canada on Thursday after a Canadian political advertisement used the voice of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan to criticize tariffs.
All three indexes closed in the green on Thursday and the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, hit its lowest in over two weeks.
Among other early movers, Alphabet rose 1.2% after Anthropic said it will use tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Google’s AI chips to train its Claude chatbot.
Deckers Outdoor forecast full-year sales below Wall Street estimates, sending its shares down 12.4%.
Ford shares added 3.8% after the carmaker’s third-quarter profit beat expectations.
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