US pre-open: Futures trade flat ahead of retail sales report

Wall Street futures were little changed ahead of the bell on Wednesday prior to the open as market participants await the release of the Census Bureau's retail sales report.

As of 1210 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.02%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.04% and 0.12% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 56.22 points higher on Tuesday as market participants digested another softer-than-expected inflation report.

Wednesday's primary focus will be October's retail sales data at 1330 GMT, with investors hoping the report will provide some insight into the current state of the economy and what damage inflation has dealt to consumer demand. Retail Sales are expected to have risen 1% following a stagnant September, while sales excluding autos were predicted to be up 0.5%.

Elsewhere on the macro front, mortgage applications rose 2.70% in the week ended 11 November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the first increase in eight weeks. The purchase index was up 4.4%, while applications to refinance a home loan fell by 1.6%.

Still to come, last month's industrial production figures will be published at 1415 GMT, and September business inventories data and the National Association of Home Builders' November housing market index will both follow at 1500 GMT.

Turning to the Fed, New York Fed president John Williams will deliver a speech at 1450 GMT and governor Christopher Waller will speak at 1935 GMT.

In the corporate space, Target, Lowe's, Cisco and Nvidia will all report earnings on Wednesday.

Headlines from across the pond were also in focus ahead of the bell on Wednesday as UK inflation once again surged in October, coming in well above expectations. According to the Office for National Statistics, consumer price inflation rose 11.1% in October year-on-year, up from 10.1% in September and the highest rate since 1981. Most analysts had been expecting CPI to print at around 10.7%.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com