U.S. stock futures jumped Wednesday as traders cheered new data that showed inflation rose less than expected last month. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 200 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures popped 0.8%, and Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 1%. The consumer price index rose 3% on a year-over-year in June. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a 3.1% increase. Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also rose less than expected. Month over month, the index rose 0.2% last month, also less than expected. “What we’re seeing in this number is that this is a game that requires patience. … But we’re seeing it coming down,” Betsy Stevenson, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday. Stevenson added that the Federal Reserve will have to give the economy some time for its rate hikes to continue to work through the system. “That’s why we see the number we’re seeing today. …We see a job a labor market that is slowing — not crashing, but slowing — [and] we see inflation that is slowing. This is exactly what a soft landing looks like,” Stevenson added. June data for the producer price index — another well-watched gauge of inflation — is due Thursday before the bell. Both price indexes are being watched for tea leaves on the path of inflation, which investors see as potential harbingers for how the Federal Reserve will move interest rates going forward. The market is pricing in an approximately 92% chance the Fed raises interest rates at the July meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool. Stocks finished higher in Tuesday’s session. The Dow finished more than 300 points higher, equating to a gain of about 0.9%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite advanced nearly 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. Elsewhere, investors will monitor comments from central bank officials including Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester throughout Wednesday for any insights into the state of U.S. economic policy. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed ahead of key inflation data out of India and the U.S on Wednesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 0.81% to end at 31,943.93 — the first time in over a month that it finished lower than 32,000 points, while the Topix was down 0.67% and closed at 2,221.48. The country saw wholesale inflation slow to its lowest pace in six months, with the corporate goods price index rising just 4.1% year on year, official data showed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.38% and finished at 7,135, extending its gains from Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.48% to close at 2,574.72, while the Kosdaq saw a smaller gain of 0.13% to 879.88 as the country saw its unemployment rate climb slightly to 2.6% in June. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.91%, while mainland Chinese indexes were all in negative territory. The Shanghai Composite closed 0.78% lower at 3,196.13, while the Shenzhen Component was down 0.99% to closed at 10,919.26. Oil moved higher on Wednesday in a market caught between expectations supply cuts by the world’s biggest fuel exporters will drive prices higher and concerns global economic weakness will sap demand. Brent futures traded over $80 a barrel for the first time since May and was last up 36 cents to $79.76 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 48 cents to $75.31 a barrel. Gold prices were firmer near three-week highs on Wednesday as investors held their breath ahead of the much anticipated U.S. inflation data that could drive the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decisions. Spot gold LAST gained 0.09% to $1,933.79 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures added 0.11% to $1,939.50. Prices touched their highest since June 20 earlier in the session as the dollar index slid to its weakest level in two months, making bullion cheaper for overseas buyers.
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