Tamer-Than-Expected Inflation Data May Lead To Rebound On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a notably higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to regain ground after coming under considerable selling pressure over the course of the previous session.

The futures jumped following the release of the Labor Department’s report on consumer price inflation, which showed an unexpected slowdown in the annual rate of price growth.

The report said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices slowed to 2.7 percent in November from 3.0 percent in September. Economists had expected the annual rate of growth to tick up to 3.1 percent.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, also slowed to 2.6 percent in November from 3.0 percent in September. The pace of core price growth was expected to remain unchanged.

The Labor Department noted that survey data for October 2025 was not collected due to the government shutdown.

The unexpected slowdowns by the annual rates of price growth is likely to increase confidence about the Federal Reserve continuing to lower interest rates in the new year.

After ending Tuesday’s choppy session narrowly mixed, stocks moved to the upside in early trading on Wednesday but quickly came under pressure. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session and firmly into negative territory.

The major averages saw further downside going into the end of the day, closing just off their lows of the session.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 418.14 points or 1.8 percent to 22,693.32, the S&P 500 slumped 78.83 points or 1.2 percent to 6,721.43 and the Dow slid 228.29 points or 0.5 percent to 47,885.97.

The sharp pullback seen as the day progressed came amid renewed weakness among technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Major AI player Oracle (ORCL) helped lead the sector lower, plummeting by 5.4 percent to a six-month closing low.

Oracle came under pressure after a report from the Financial Times said the company’s largest data center partner Blue Owl Capital will not back a $10 billion deal for its next facility in Michigan, although Oracle later said the project is still moving forward.

Other big-name companies like Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also showed significant moves to the downside.

Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market’s worst performances on the day, resulting in a 3.8 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Considerable weakness was also visible among computer hardware stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index tumbling by 3.1 percent.

Networking stocks have also moved significantly lower, while airline, brokerage and housing stocks saw notable weakness outside of the tech sector.

On the other hand, energy stocks turned in a strong performance as the price of crude oil rebounds from its lowest levels since early 2021.

The jump by the price of crude oil comes after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela.

In a Truth Social post, Trump declared the government of President Nicolas Maduro a foreign terrorist organization and said he was ordering a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” going into and leaving Venezuela.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.34 to $56.28 a barrel after jumping $0.67 to $55.94 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after surging $41.60 to $4,373.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $8.80 to $4,365.10 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.49 yen versus the 155.67 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1746 compared to yesterday’s $1.1739.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday after the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted to three-week lows overnight on concerns about lofty valuations for technology stocks.

After recent employment data painted a mixed picture of the world’s largest economy, traders also braced for key a U.S. inflation reading later in the day that could influence the Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory in the new year.

The dollar was broadly firm in Asian trading ahead of a slew of central bank meetings this week. Gold dipped slightly but hovered near record levels on Fed rate cut bets, while oil prices climbed on supply disruption concerns stemming from Venezuela and Russia.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent to 3,876.37 as cash-strapped China Vanke kicked off a second meeting with bond holders to extend its debt payments and avoid a default.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished 0.1 higher at 25,498.13 after a choppy session.

Japanese markets hit three-week lows as investors weighed the outlook for artificial intelligence and data center businesses and looked ahead to the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting conclusion on Friday, with the central bank expected to raise interest rates to the highest level in three decades.

The Nikkei 225 Index slumped 1.0 percent to 49,001.50, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.4 percent lower at 3,356.89. Advantest, SoftBank and Fujikura lost 3-4 percent.

Seoul stocks sank on continued concerns over the profitability of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The Kospi tumbled 1.5 percent to 3,994.51.

Battery Maker LG Energy Solution nosedived 8.9 percent after Ford Motor cancelled a 9.6 trillion won ($6.5 billion) battery agreement with the company.

Australian markets recovered from an early slide to finish marginally higher, snapping a three-day losing streak as gains in technology stocks offset losses in the energy sector.

Woodside Energy tumbled 2.7 percent after its Chief Executive Officer Meg O’Neill resigned to become the CEO of BP Plc.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index dipped 0.3 percent to 13,256.77 despite data showing robust third quarter GDP growth.

Europe

The major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on Thursday following central bank decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

While the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, the Bank of England lowered interest rates by 25 basis points.

Meanwhile, confidence among French manufacturers rebounded strongly in December to highest level in over one-and-a-half years, monthly data from the statistical office INSEE revealed.

The manufacturing sentiment index rose to 102.0 in December from 98.0 in November. Economists had expected the index to remain stable at 98.0.

Currently, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent.

Swiss engineering group ABB has edged down slightly after it agreed to acquire IPEC, a U.K.-based technology company with more than 30 years of experience in electrical diagnostics.

Perfume retailer Douglas has slumped after saying it has experienced heightened price sensitivity among customers as well as growing competitive pressure from discount campaigns in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, electronics retailer Currys has moved sharply higher after more than doubling its first half adjusted profit before tax.

U.S. Economic News

Consumer prices in the U.S. saw a modest increase in over the two months from September to November, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent over the two months from September to November.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices slowed to 2.7 percent in November from 3.0 percent in September. Economists had expected the annual rate of growth to tick up to 3.1 percent.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, also slowed to 2.6 percent in November from 3.0 percent in September. The pace of growth was expected to remain unchanged.

The Labor Department noted that survey data for October 2025 was not collected due to the government shutdown.

A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits declined roughly in line with economist estimates in the week ended December 13th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 224,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 237,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 225,000 from the 236,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 217,500, an increase of 500 from the previous week’s revised average of 217,000.

A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday unexpectedly showed a notable decrease by its reading on regional manufacturing activity in the month of December.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity slumped to a negative 10.2 in December from a negative 1.7 in November, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to climb to a positive 3.0.

Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said most of the survey’s future indicators softened but continued to suggest widespread expectations for growth over the next six months.

At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month’s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes.