Stocks Rise Before the Open After Key U.S. Inflation Data was Released

Economic Data and Inflation - U.S. producer price index (PPI) for final demand fell -0.1% month-over-month (m/m) and rose +2.6% year-over-year (y/y) in August, weaker than expectations of +0.3% m/m and +3.3% y/y [1] - U.S. consumer price index (CPI) increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in August, pushing the annual inflation rate to 2.9%, marking a 0.2 percentage point increase [3] - Core PPI, excluding food and energy, also fell -0.1% m/m and rose +2.8% y/y in August, below expectations of +0.3% m/m and +3.5% y/y [1] Stock Market Performance - Wall Street's major indices ended mixed, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record high, driven by Oracle's aggressive forecast for its cloud business, which saw its stock jump over +35% [2] - AI computing infrastructure stocks surged following Oracle's outlook, with CoreWeave rising more than +16% and Broadcom climbing over +9% [2] - GameStop reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results, leading to a rise of over +3% in its stock [2] - Conversely, Synopsys plummeted more than -35% after reporting downbeat FQ3 results and issuing below-consensus FQ4 guidance [2] Futures and Rate Expectations - September S&P 500 E-Mini futures are up +0.23%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures are up +0.31% [4] - U.S. rate futures indicate a 100% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut and an 8.0% chance of a 50 basis point rate cut at the upcoming monetary policy meeting [4] Corporate Earnings and Market Reactions - Adobe is set to report its FQ3 earnings results, which is being closely watched by market participants [5] - In pre-market trading, Nvidia gained about +0.5% after an upgrade to Buy from Neutral, while Oxford Industries surged over +15% following better-than-expected Q2 results [12] - United Parcel Service slid over -2% after a downgrade to Underperform from Neutral [13] International Market Developments - The Euro Stoxx 50 Index is up +0.19% as investors await the European Central Bank's monetary policy decision [7] - Japan's Nikkei 225 closed higher, supported by technology sector strength, with SoftBank Group surging about +10% [10] - China's Shanghai Composite Index closed up +1.65%, driven by optimism surrounding AI and related industries [9]