Wall Street climbed higher in premarket trading Wednesday ahead of a new read on inflation this week,, as well as a public event featuring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the Associated Press reported.
Futures for the S&P 500 and futures for the Dow Jones Industrials each rose 0.4% before the bell.
U.S. markets have been on a tear recently, with the S&P 500 roaring 9% higher this year and on track to close out its fifth straight winning month. Most economic indicators reveal a U.S. economy that remains resilient despite higher interest rates intended to get inflation under control.
On Friday, the government will report on a measure of inflation that’s closely tracked by the Fed and could play into its next rate policy decision. Later that day, Fed Chair Powell will take part in a webcast discussion of interest-rate policy at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Investors and economists will be looking for clues about when the U.S. central bank might start cutting rates.
Progress on bringing inflation down has become bumpier recently, with reports of costs coming in hotter than expected this year after a rapid pull back in prices in late 2023. Despite that, the broad expectation is for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting its main interest rate in June. There is some speculation that a cut may be announced at the Fed’s next policy meeting in early May.
