US pre-open: Futures trade lower ahead of CPI reading

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Wednesday as market participants awaited fresh inflation data.

As of 1250 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.25%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.20% and 0.23% lower, respectively.

The Dow closed 382.15 points lower on Tuesday as major indices took a break from their recent post-election rally.

Wednesday's primary focus will likely be October's consumer price index, which will be published at 1330 BST, with economists widely expecting to see CPI increase by 0.2% month-on-month and 2.6% for the year. Whatever the reading, it will most certainly play a big part in influencing the Federal Reserve's decision-making process going forward.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications rose 0.5% in the week ended 8 November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, in line with the 72 basis point surge in benchmark interest rates since the beginning of Q4. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell 2% week-on-week, while purchase applications rose 2%.

Still to come, a raft of Federal Reserve bankers will deliver speeches throughout the course of the day, including Neel Kashkari, Lorie Logan, John Williams and more.

In the corporate space, Spotify shares traded higher in pre-market despite posting quarterly numbers that fell short of Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com