Stock futures ticked higher as the annual inflation rate cracked 3%, encouraging investors who have been buying up shares following a pullback to start August. Futures tied to the broad market index inched up 0.08%. Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 7 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up 0.09%. Consumer prices increased 2.9% year-over-year, down from 3% in June and the lowest reading since 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday. Month-over-month, prices ticked up 0.2%. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a 0.2% increase from the prior month and a 3% gain year-over-year. So-called core inflation, which strips out food and energy from the headline number, advanced 0.2% on the month, also in line with expectations. The report comes a day after lighter-than-expected wholesale inflation figures gave stocks a boost. The Dow rose more than 400 points, or about 1%. The S&P 500 climbed 1.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.4%. Investors had been looking toward the CPI reading to get a full-plated picture of the state of the economy, and to further solidify the prospect of an interest rate cut at the central bank’s September meeting. “It may not have been as cool as yesterday’s PPI, but today’s as-expected CPI likely won’t rock the boat,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing for E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. “Now the primary question is whether the Fed will cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points next month.” Futures market pricing is roughly split down the middle between expectations for a quarter or half-percentage point reduction at central bank meeting on Sept.17-18, and forecast a total basis point in shifts by the end of the year, per the CME FedWatch Tool. ″“If most of the data over the next five weeks points to a slowing economy, the Fed may cut more aggressively,” Larkin said. All three major averages are now above their Aug. 2 closing level, which was the session before the global market sell-off on Aug. 5 that appeared to be related to an unwind of trades in Japan and concerns about economic growth. U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly on Wednesday as investors considered the latest inflation data and what it could mean for the economy and monetary policy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose 1 basis point at 3.867%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 3.991% after rising by more than 4 basis points. Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Wednesday as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut benchmark lending rates and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that he would step down in September. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.58% to close at 36,442.43 after Kishida’s announcement, while the broad-based Topix rose 1.11% to 2,581.9. Both indexes notched their third straight day of gains. South Korea’s Kospi ended 0.88% higher at 2,644.5, while the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 1.56% to close at 776.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a smaller rise of 0.31%, ending at 7,850.7. In contrast to the rest of Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index inched down 0.55% in its final hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.75% to hit a near seven-month low of 3,309.24. Oil futures held steady Wednesday with U.S. crude trading above $78 per barrel, after President Joe Biden said Iran might refrain from attacking Israel if a cease-fire deal is reached in Gaza. Biden told reporters Tuesday afternoon his “expectation” is Iran would not strike Israel if a deal is clinched to stop the fighting in Gaza, though he said efforts to broker a cease-fire are “getting hard.” A new round of cease-fire talks are scheduled to begin Thursday in Qatar, though Hamas told Reuters that the militant group does not plan to take part in the negotiations. West Texas Intermediate September contract: $78.31 per barrel, down 4 cents, or 0.05%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has gained about 9.3%. Brent October contract: $80.76 per barrel, up 7 cents, or 0.09%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead 4.8%. Gold prices hovered near record highs on Wednesday, steered by hopes of U.S. interest rate reduction and persistent Middle East tensions, while the spotlight shifted to U.S. inflation data. Spot gold was up 0.2% to $2,469.35 per ounce, shy of the record high of $2,483.60 scaled last month. U.S. gold futures steadied at $2,508.40.