Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on July 10, 2026. <\/p>\n
NYSE<\/p>\n
Stock futures edged higher early Wednesday after a rally fueled by softer-than-expected inflation data.<\/p>\n
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were just above the flatline. S&P 500 futures gained 0.21%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.77%. <\/p>\n
Stocks climbed Tuesday after a cooler-than-expected inflation report<\/a> bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates as aggressively this year.<\/p>\n U.S. consumer price index fell 0.4% in June from the prior month, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a 0.2% monthly decline and annual inflation of 3.8%.<\/p>\n The report prompted traders to scale back expectations for near-term Fed tightening. The probability of a rate hike at the central bank’s July meeting fell to 17% from 42% a day earlier, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool<\/a>. Markets, however, continue to price in an increase later this year, with traders assigning a 63% probability that rates will be a quarter- or half-percentage point higher following the September meeting.<\/p>\n “While\u00a0energy played a big role in the price deceleration, the easing was pretty broad\u00a0and\u00a0spread across a bunch of categories, a\u00a0relief to investors,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note. “However,\u00a0the Fed and economy aren’t in the clear\u00a0\u2013\u00a0inflation is still elevated\u00a0on an\u00a0absolute basis,\u00a0oil is back on an upswing, and\u00a0AI is proving to be very inflationary at the moment.”<\/p>\n European stocks opened broadly lower on Wednesday, as continued U.S. strikes on Iran continued to weigh on investor sentiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shortly after the opening bell, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was seen down 0.15%, with regional bourses and most sectors trading in the red, with the exception of tech stocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n London’s FTSE 100<\/a> opened down over 0.5%, while France’s CAC 40<\/a> shed 0.25% in early trade and Germany’s DAX<\/a> fell 0.9%.\u00a0<\/p>\n Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Wednesday, with South Korea’s Kospi<\/a> and Japan’s\u00a0Nikkei 225<\/a> gaining 6.2% and 1.5%, respectively. Australia’s benchmark S&P\/ASX 200<\/a> rose 0.4%. Mainland China stocks, however, fell 0.2% in choppy trade, after the country posted the slowest quarterly GDP growth since 2022, missing market expectations. <\/p>\n Investors will turn their attention to another busy day of earnings on Wednesday, with United Airlines, Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson and BlackRock set to report quarterly results.<\/p>\n