Looming Inflation Data May Lead To Choppy Trading Day On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Monday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after turning in a strong performance last week.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may keep traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several closely watched reports in the coming days.

The Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation in the month of July is likely to be in focus on Tuesday, as the data could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Economists currently expect consumer prices to rise by 0.2 percent in July after climbing by 0.3 percent in June, while the annual rate of growth is expected to inch up to 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent.

Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, are expected to increase by 0.3 percent in July after rising by 0.2 percent in June. The annual rate of growth is expected to tick up to 3.0 percent from 2.9 percent.

Ahead of the release of the data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating an 86.4 percent chance the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by a quarter point next month.

Reports on producer price inflation, retail sales and industrial production are also likely to attract attention in the coming days.

Following the mixed performance seen during Thursday's session, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading on Friday. With the upward move, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a new record closing high.

The major averages all finished the day firmly in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 207.32 points or 1.0 percent to 21,450.02, the S&P 500 advanced 49.45 points or 0.8 percent to 6,389.45 and the Dow climbed 206.97 points or 0.5 percent to 44,175.61.

For the week, the Nasdaq spiked by 3.9 percent, the S&P 500 surged by 2.4 percent and the Dow shot up by 1.4 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders shrugged off concerns about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's new tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners that took effect at midnight.

Apple (AAPL) helped to lead the markets higher, with the tech giant surging by 4.2 percent to its best closing level in five months.

Shares of Apple have shown a substantial move to the upside this week after announcing plans to spend about $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.

Computer hardware stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index climbing by 1.4 percent.

Significant strength also emerged among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the KBW Bank Index.

Oil service, brokerage and networking stocks also saw notable strength, while commercial real estate stocks moved to the downside.

Among individual stocks, shares of LegalZoom.com (LZ) skyrocketed by 31.0 percent after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the online legal technology and services company's stock to Buy from Underperform.

Online travel company TripAdvisor (TRIP) also spiked by 11.7 percent after reporting second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Trade Desk (TTD) plummeted by 38.6 percent after several Wall Street firms downgraded the company's stock despite its strong second quarter earnings.

Salad chain Sweetgreen (SG) has also plunged by 23.1 percent after reporting weaker than expected second quarter results and slashing its full-year revenue guidance.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.34 to $64.22 a barrel after coming in unchanged at $63.88 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after jumping $37.60 to $3,491.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are plummeting $88.50 to $3,402.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.93 yen versus the 147.74 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1615 compared to last Friday's $1.1641.

Asia

Asian stocks edged up in thin trading on Monday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday.

As the August 12 deadline for a deal between the U.S. and China looms, U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped China would quadruple its soybean orders from the United States to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S.

In another significant development, chip giants Nvidia and AMD have reportedly agreed to give the U.S. government 15 percent of the revenues from chip sales in China as part of a deal with the Trump administration to secure export licenses.

Investors also looked ahead to a slew of U.S. and Chinese economic data and the Trump-Putin meeting on August 15 in Alaska for directional cues.

The dollar was steady ahead of this week's U.S. July CPI inflation report, which will shape the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory and influence investment strategies across asset classes.

Some economists are cautioning that Trump's sweeping new tariffs on U.S. trade partners increase the risks that the U.S. economy could enter a period of stagflation, characterized by rising prices, slowing growth, and increasing unemployment.

Gold prices fell over 1 percent in Asian trading as investors sought clarity from Washington over tariff rulings on bullion bars. Oil prices declined despite Trump's threats to India and China over Russian oil.

China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 3,647.55, with lithium producers surging after CATL confirmed it has suspended production at a large lithium mine, sending lithium carbonate prices soaring.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished 0.2 percent higher at 24,906.81, recovering from an early slide as crucial earnings results approached and China deflation concerns persisted.

China's factory-gate prices fell more than expected in July, while consumer prices were flat, underscoring the impact of sluggish domestic demand and persistent trade uncertainty on consumer and business sentiment.

Seoul stocks edged down slightly as caution prevailed ahead of U.S. inflation as well as Chinese retail sales and industrial output data due this week.

The Kospi slipped 0.1 percent to 3,206.77. Samsung Electronics fell 1.1 percent and Hanwha Ocean, the shipbuilding unit of Hanwha Group, plummeted 9.1 percent while SK Hynix surged 4.1 percent.

Australian markets eked out modest gains amid bets the Reserve Bank of Australia will ease policy on Tuesday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4 percent to 8,844.80, while the broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.5 percent higher at 9,117.60.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index ended up 0.5 percent at 12,911.86.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Monday as investors look ahead to a Russia-U.S. summit this week that could help stop the war in Ukraine.

While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent.

German steelmaker Salzgitter has moved to the downside after reporting a wider second quarter loss and cutting its full-year outlook.

Defense stocks have also moved lower after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that a potential agreement to end the more than three-year old conflict in Ukraine could see the swapping of territory by both sides.

Marshalls has also declined as the building materials producer posted half-year results showing substantially softer profits.

Meanwhile, Vistry Group, a prominent player in the housing and construction industry, has advanced in London after announcing the continuation of its £130 million share buyback program.

Drug maker GSK has also risen. The U.S. FDA has accepted its application for priority review of gepotidacin, an oral antibiotic to treat sexually transmitted uncomplicated gonorrhoea.

U.S. Economic News

No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today.