US futures slip after hotter than expected PPI data
US futures fell today as producer prices rose 3.4% in February. The higher than expected data dampened hopes for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.
Stock index futures in the United States retreated on Wednesday morning after the latest producer inflation report came in stronger than anticipated. The data has dampened investor hopes for imminent interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, as price pressures remain persistent. Data released by the Labor Department showed that the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 3.4% on an annual basis in February, overshooting the 2.9% forecast by economists. On a month-over-month basis, the PPI rose 0.7%, which was significantly higher than the 0.3% growth expected by the market. Core inflation figures, which exclude the volatile food and energy sectors, also came in higher than projected. The annual core PPI stood at 3.9% against an estimated 3.7%, while the monthly core reading increased by 0.5%, surpassing the 0.3% estimate. As of 8:36 a.m. ET, the Dow E-minis were down 115 points, or 0.24%. Similarly, S&P 500 E-minis fell 15 points, or 0.22%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis dropped 47.25 points, or 0.19%.
