Stock Market Today: Live Updates

Hear’s a breakdown of the key information from the provided text, focusing on market movements and economic data:

market Performance:

Oracle (ORCL): Shares surged over 30% in premarket trading due to a strong forecast linked to artificial intelligence.
Futures:
S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%.
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged higher.
Previous Day: All three major benchmarks (S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones) closed at record highs on Tuesday. The Nasdaq also hit a new intraday high.

Economic Data & Inflation:

Producer Price Index (PPI): Wholesale prices fell 0.1% in August, contrary to expectations of a 0.3% gain. Core PPI (excluding food & energy) also declined 0.1% against a forecast of a 0.3% increase.
Consumer Price Index (CPI): economists predict a 0.3% monthly increase in CPI, both headline and core, for the upcoming report. This would push the annual headline CPI to 2.9%, while the core rate is expected to remain at 3.1%.
Inflation Impact: The PPI data is seen as a positive sign for U.S. inflation.

Rate Cut Expectations: The positive inflation data is increasing expectations for a rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting.
Increased Odds of Larger Cut: Traders are now assigning a 10% probability to a 0.5% (50 basis point) rate cut on September 17th,up from 7% previously. There is near certainty of at least a 0.25% cut.
Rationale for Larger Cut: Some analysts (like Mohamed El-Erian) believe the Fed should consider a 0.5% cut given the favorable data.

In essence, the market is reacting positively to signs of easing inflation, leading to increased expectations of a more aggressive interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Oracle’s strong AI forecast is also a significant driver of market gains.