US stock futures are treading water this morning as traders wait for July inflation data that will shape the Federal Reserve’s September decision.
Dow futures are flat, S&P 500 contracts are up 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 is 0.6% higher
Economists expect consumer prices to have risen 3.4% year on year, down from 3.5% in June, and 0.1% on the month. The stakes are unusually high because the market is genuinely split. Traders are pricing roughly a 50-50 chance of a rate rise next month, an unusual position after a softer than expected July jobs report.
A hot print would tip the balance towards a hike. The backdrop is the Strait of Hormuz, still closed as Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked. American forces fired on a Panama-flagged vessel attempting to cross the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, pushing Brent crude close to $90 a barrel