U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday following a sharp rally on Wall Street in the previous session as data showed inflation was cooling, with investors looking ahead to producer price data due later in the day.
A slower rise in prices has boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve could soon end its monetary tightening campaign.
Economists polled by Reuters expect producer inflation to have eased to 0.4% over the 12 months through June from 1.1% in the previous month. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
On Wednesday, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at over a year's high, with megacap stocks leading gains after the CPI report showed consumer prices registered their smallest annual increase in more than two years.
Traders have cemented bets of a 25-basis-point rate hike later in July, but have toned down possibilities of another rate hike this year, with yield on the two-year treasury note hitting their lowest in nearly four weeks. [US/]
"Today's PPI numbers for June are expected to reinforce the disinflation trends being seen rippling out through the global economy," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets wrote in a note.
"But more importantly (it will) signal that U.S. rate hikes are done, bar the move in two weeks' time."
Second-quarter earnings from PepsiCo and Delta Air lines will also be in focus as investors assess the impact of monetary tightening on corporate performance. The Atlanta Georgia-based airline edged up 1.0% in premarket trading.
Overall, earnings for the S&P 500 constituents are expected to have dropped 6.4% in the second quarter, Refintiv data showed.
At 5:27 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 88 points, or 0.25%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 16.75 points, or 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 105.25 points, or 0.68%.
Among other movers, Walt Disney rose 1.2% after the film conglomerate's board extended Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger's contract by two years.
Meta Platforms, which recently launched Twitter-rival Threads, outpaced gains among big growth stocks, adding 1.5%. It is set to release a commercial artificial intelligence (AI) model, as per a report.
Markets will parse remarks by policymakers during the day, including Fed Board Governor Christopher Waller, to gauge the tone of the central bank on monetary policy tightening.
Initial jobless claims data for the previous week is awaited at 8:30 a.m. ET.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
