US stock futures lower on CPI data, Harris-Trump debate on tap By Investing.com

Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower in late trading on Tuesday, as attention turned squarely to an upcoming inflation print that is likely to weigh on the outlook for interest rate cuts.

The focus was also on the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, who are set for the hotly contested 2024 presidential election. The debate is scheduled to take place later on Tuesday evening.

Wall Street indexes posted some gains over the past two sessions after uncertainty over the economy and interest rates caused steep losses the previous week.

fell 0.1 percent to 5,500.50 points, while it was down 0.1 percent to 18,850.50 points by 19:11 ET (23:11 GMT). it fell slightly to 40,782.0 points.

CPI data expected for more rate cut cues

Focus now turns to an inflation reading due on Wednesday for more clues on interest rates.

The reading is expected to show inflation continued to ease, albeit slightly in August, potentially giving the Federal Reserve more confidence to cut interest rates this year.

Wednesday’s CPI reading comes just a week ahead of , where the central bank is expected to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points.

Uncertainty over a September cut has been a key weight on stock markets over the past week, as signs of resilience in the US economy have seen traders scale back expectations for a bigger cut of 50 basis points in September.

Traders are pricing in a 70% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points and a 30% chance a 50bps cut, it showed.

Wall St is backed by tech while finance, energy stumbles

Gains in technology stocks – amid some buying and a build-up of bargains in the sector – helped most Wall Street indexes post a stronger close on Tuesday, although overall gains were still limited by losses in banks and energy stocks.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ) helped boost tech stocks after the firm posted stronger-than-expected earnings and also announced a cloud partnership with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: ) .

Major bank stocks steadied on the stock market after posting deep losses during the session as JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: ) issued a net interest income warning on the prospect of lower interest rates .

Energy stocks were hit by oil prices falling to a more than three-year low on concerns about slowing demand.

It rose 0.5 percent to 5,495.52 points, while it rose 0.8 percent to 17,025.79 points. They lagged behind, falling 0.2% to 40,736.96 points.

The Harris-Trump debate was expected

Markets were also awaiting the first presidential debate between Harris and Trump, which is set to begin later on Tuesday.

Recent polls have shown the candidates locked in a tightly contested race for the White House with less than two months to go before the vote.

The debate is scheduled to begin at 21:00 ET (03:00 GMT).