Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a modestly higher open as investors await more inflation data this morning against a quiet corporate news backdrop.

Stocks finished mostly higher yesterday after the July Consumer Price Index came in-line with expectations, keeping the odds of a rate hike or hold at the September FOMC meeting fairly even and setting the stage for a quiet day of trading. The market will receive the July PPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%) and Core PPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) readings at 8:30 a.m. ET alongside weekly initial jobless claims data (Briefing.com 205,000).

Elsewhere, crude oil is moving lower this morning despite a lack of headlines around the state of U.S.-Iran negotiations. WTI crude is currently down $1.73 (-2.1%) to $81.55 per barrel.

In corporate news:

• Anthropic investors expect a $2 trillion IPO valuation, according to Financial Times.
• Coherent (COHR 332.41, -23.23, -6.5%) beat EPS and revenue expectations.
• Cisco (CSCO 116.50, -7.38, -6.0%) beat EPS expectations by $0.05, beat revenue expectations, guided Q1 EPS and revenues above consensus, and guided FY27 EPS and revenues above consensus.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday, with South Korea's Kospi Index (+3.6%) the winning standout once again, bolstered by its semiconductor components. Japan's Nikkei: +1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -0.2%, China's Shanghai Composite: -0.5%, India's Sensex: +0.1%, South Korea's Kospi: +3.6%, Australia's All Ordinaries: -0.2%.

In news:

• Thursday's gain left the Kospi up more than 20% from its closing low in July (a span of just 10 trading sessions).
• Japan's Nikkei (+1.2%) also had another winning session, aided by some market-friendly PPI data. Nevertheless, market pricing continues to suggest a BOJ rate hike could happen in either September or October.
• The Q2 policy report from the PBOC, meanwhile, acknowledged continuing with a "moderately loose" monetary policy.

In economic data:

• Japan's July PPI 0.1% m/m (expected 0.6%; prior 0.5%) and 7.2% yr/yr (expected 7.4%; prior 7.3%)
• India's July Trade Balance -INR31.98B (expected -INR30.20B; prior -INR30.43B)
• New Zealand's Q3 Inflation Expectations 2.3% qtr/qtr (prior 2.5%)

Major European indices are mostly higher, sporting modest gains in a move that has drawn support from sliding oil prices. STOXX Europe 600: +0.2%, Germany's DAX: +0.3%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.3%, France's CAC 40: +0.1%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.4%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.6%.

In news:

• The Norges Bank left its key policy rate unchanged at 4.25% but suggested it may need to raise rates again.
• Corporate news hasn't been much of a market mover, taking a backseat to economic news that included a data dump from the U.K. that featured stronger-than-expected GDP for June and a larger-than-expected trade deficit for June.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's June Industrial Production 0.0% m/m (expected -0.1%; prior 0.3%) and 0.1% yr/yr (expected -0.8%; prior -0.1%)
• U.K.'s June GDP 0.3% m/m (expected 0.0%; prior 0.0%) and 1.1% yr/yr (expected 0.8%; prior 1.2%), Q2 GDP 0.4% qtr/qtr (expected 0.4%; prior 0.6%) and 1.2% yr/yr (expected 1.1%; prior 0.9%); June Industrial Production -0.2% m/m (expected 0.1%; prior -0.7%) and -0.2% yr/yr (expected 0.2%; prior 1.0%); Business Investment 1.7% qtr/qtr (expected -0.3%' prior 0.9%); June Trade Balance -GBP23.01B (expected -GBP20.60B; prior -GBP21.08B); June Construction Output -0.1% m/m (expected -0.3%; prior -0.8%) and -2.3% yr/yr (expected -2.4%; prior -2.0%)
• Spain's July CPI 0.3% m/m (expected 0.2%; prior 0.6%) and 3.6% yr/yr (expected 3.5%; prior 3.2%)
• Switzerland's July PPI -0.1% m/m (expected -0.2%; prior -0.3%) and -2.1% yr/yr (prior -2.1%)