European stocks and U.S. futures edged lower on Wednesday as investors brace themselves for the latest round of U.S. CPI data. This data is expected to give an indication of the path that the Federal Reserve will take regarding its monetary policy going forward.
Contracts listed on the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower, as did those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 fell by 0.2%.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 declined by 0.2% at 9:29 a.m. London time. Retail and consumer shares were the biggest fallers, overshadowing the positive gains made by France’s Credit Agricole SA and the Netherlands’ Vestas Wind Systems A/S following positive earnings.
Should CPI data show any signs of cooling inflation, U.S. stocks are expected to rally, according to teams from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. A headline CPI of 5% is expected on a year-on-year basis, above the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve.