US pre-open: Futures mostly higher ahead of CPI reading

Wall Street futures were mixed early on Tuesday as investors awaited the release of February's all-important consumer price index report later in the day.

As of 1225 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.25% and 0.46% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 46.97 points higher on Monday the index looked to shrug off losses recorded in what was the blue-chip's worst week since October 2023.

Tuesday's pre-market moves come as market participants brace for last month's consumer price index, due out at 1230 GMT, with economists expecting to see CPI rise 0.4% month-on-month and 3.1% year-on-year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI was expected to increase 0.3% and 3.7%, respectively.

February's producer price index was slated for release, with the two key pieces of inflation data marking some of the last major macro data points scheduled for release ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting on 19 March.

Elsewhere on the macro front, optimism among small businesses in the US unexpectedly declined last month, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, with inflation still a concern for many firms despite the recent slowdown in price pressures over recent months.

The closely watched NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell to 89.4 last month, from 89.9 in January, missing analysts' forecasts for a pick-up to 90.7 and marking the 26th straight month below the 50-year average reading of 98. According to the survey, 23% of small business owners said that inflation was their single most important business problem in operating their business in February, up from 20% the month before.

Still to come, the Federal Government's monthly budget statement will be published at 1800 GMT.

In the corporate space, Oracle shares surged in pre-market trading after its fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall Street estimates as its cloud services and license support segment saw a 12% increase in revenues.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com