U.S. stock futures ticked higher Wednesday ahead of key inflation data and a vote by lawmakers on impeaching President Trump during his final week in office.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up less than 0.2%, suggesting that both indexes will post modest advances for a second day. Nasdaq-100 futures ticked up almost 0.3%.
Stocks have drifted lower this week after notching record highs in early January as investors weighed the prospect of fresh government spending against political turmoil in Washington and still rising Covid-19 cases. Energy and banking are among the best performers so far in the new year as investors bet on companies that fared poorly in 2020 and are likely to benefit as the economy recovers.
Markets are going to remain choppy for a while, but through it all, we remain cautiously optimistic, said Altaf Kassam, head of investment strategy for State Street Global Advisors in Europe. The amount of fiscal stimulus that is possible will protect risky assets, and there is still a lot of cash on the sidelines.
U.S. inflation data, set to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, is likely to show that consumer prices increased only moderately last month, reflecting weak demand for a range of goods and services. Some economists expect inflation to pick up the pace as the economy grows faster later this year.
The yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds edged lower after seven consecutive days of gains following strong demand at an auction of new debt
