Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday in the run-up to a key inflation report that could offer insight into the impact of tariffs on price pressures, while strong forecasts from chipmaker Micron temporarily assuaged worries about the overvalued technology sector.
A report from the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show consumer prices likely increased by the most in 1-1/2 years in the year to November, which would underscore worsening affordability challenges due to U.S. tariffs on imports.
However, the data could also risk being distorted by the recent government shutdown, similar to the official jobs report that was released earlier this week. A more reliable figure would be the jobless claims figures for the week ended December 13 expected later in the day.
The Federal Reserve has been focused on the health of the labor market when it lowered interest rates twice this year and expectations are for at least 50 basis points worth of monetary policy easing next year, according to data compiled by LSEG, amid hopes that a dovish Fed chair replaces Jerome Powell.
However, a spike in price pressures could spark uncertainty among market participants at a time when inflation expectations have had traders price in rate hikes in other developed economies. Central bank decisions out of Europe and the UK will particularly be scrutinized later in the day.
At 5:44 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 64 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 27.75 points, or 0.41%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 185.75 points, or 0.75%.
A standout in premarket trading was Micron Technology, which rose 10% after forecasting quarterly profit at nearly double what analysts were expecting, as prices soar for memory chips amid tight supplies and booming demand from artificial intelligence data centers.
Other memory companies such as SanDisk rose 5.7% and Western Digital gained 4%, while chip giant Nvidia advanced 1.3%.
Investors were recoiling from a selloff on Wednesday when uncertainty over Oracle’s funding plans sent the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to three-week lows. The cloud company’s shares edged up 1.2% on Thursday.
Still, the reprieve from Micron’s earnings is likely to be brief as traders scour for clarity on how corporates are monetizing AI.
The benchmark and tech-heavy indexes are now on track for their biggest two-week loss since tariff concerns sparked a rout in global markets between late March and early April.
Among others, Lululemon gained 6% as a report said activist investor Elliott took a more than $1 billion stake in the athletic-wear company.
Birkenstock lost 11.6% after the footwear maker’s annual profit forecast missed estimates.
Cannabis companies have soared this week on multiple reports that the Trump administration is likely to ease restrictions on marijuana’s use as a drug.
U.S.-listed shares of Cronos Group
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
