US pre-open: Stocks to tick up ahead of key inflation data

US stocks looked set to tick cautiously higher at the open on Monday as investors eyed key inflation data later in the week.

At 1150 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.2% and 0.3% higher, respectively.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "Markets will be driven this week by speeches by Fed officials, China's monthly activity data, monetary policy meetings of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Norges Bank, US inflation data that is crucial to Federal Reserve interest rate forecasts, and US earnings releases.

"The US July PPI on Tuesday and the July CPI on Wednesday could shed light on whether the markets have priced in the likelihood of a 50 basis point reduction in the Federal Reserve rate in September at 51%, in response to the weak July employment report. The core CPI is predicted to decrease from 3.3% to 3.2% year over year.

"The New York Empire State Manufacturing Index, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, retail sales, industrial production, capacity utilization, business inventories, business conditions at the Philadelphia Fed, housing starts, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, and inflation expectations are all included in the packed data schedule.

"More rate hints could be revealed in speeches by Fed policy makers Austan Goolsbee, Patrick Harker, Alberto Musalem, and Raphael Bostic as they play down concerns about a recession."

In equity markets, KeyCorp surged 12% in pre-market trade after Bank of Nova Scotia agreed to invest $2.8bn in the lender.

Starbucks also gained following a Wall Street Journal report late on Friday that activist investor Starboard Value now has a stake in the coffee chain.