U.S. stock futures wavered on Thursday as investors reacted to the latest round of incoming inflation data. Producer price increases were lower than expected while investors continued to express concerns about the unstable banking sector.
Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 71 points, or 0.21%, while those on the Nasdaq Composite declined by about 0.24%. Futures on the S&P 500 rose by 0.02%.
Regional banking concerns rose as PacWest stocks crashed 20% during premarket trading. The Los Angeles-based lender disclosed in an SEC filing that its deposits declined by 9.5% in the first week of May.
Producer prices for April came in at 0.2% higher on a monthly basis and 2.3% higher on an annual basis. Both figures fell short of estimates, with economists expecting a 0.3% rise on a monthly basis and a 2.3% yearly rise.
These figures offset the positive Consumer Price Index data that was released on Wednesday, showing the slowest price rise over the last two years. Now, markets are pricing a 95% probability of an interest rate hike pause in June.