US pre-open: Futures point to modest gains ahead of data

US futures were pointing to modest gains ahead of the bell on Thursday as Wall Street looks to recommence its latest winning streak.

As of 1315 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.15%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.14% and 0.16% stronger, respectively.

The Dow closed 151.52 points higher on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 just managed to close above the psychologically important 5,000-point level.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "Investor sentiment remains positive, despite that most unwelcome news on inflation, which has taken Headline year-on-year CPI back up to where it was in November, and higher than last summer’s reading of +3.0%. Investors have written off this month’s CPI report as simply a blip, rather than evidence of the start of something more concerning. Maybe that’s a sensible approach, although the fresh data has had a dramatic effect on rate cut expectations. The first Fed move lower is now expected in June, rather than March or May. Perhaps more significant though is that markets are finally falling into line with the US central bank.

"The latest update from the CME's FedWatch Tool indicates that real money is finally shifting, with the outlook nearer to 100 basis points. But a quick glance at the chart of Headline CPI suggests that inflation has been flatlining since last June, around, but not below, 3%. That's a full percentage point above the Fed's target. It's also something that Jerome Powell has warned about, saying he needs to see evidence that inflation is trending down to target, not stabilising above it, for rate cuts to happen."

Economic data will continue to be the session's primary focus, with the New York Fed's Empire State manufacturing index, the Philladelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey, January retail sales numbers, and jobless claims data will all be released at 1330 GMT, while the NAHB's February housing market index was slated for release at 1500 GMT.

In the corporate space, Cisco headed south in pre-market trading after the tech giant revealed it would be making a swathe of layoffs and issued some weak forward sales projections, while Tripadvisor traded higher on the back of quarterly numbers that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com