Traders walk during morning trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 14, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | fake images
Stock futures were nearly flat Wednesday night after a lower-than-expected inflation reading pushed major averages to record highs.
Futures linked to Dow Jones Industrial Average added 32 points, or 0.08%. S&P 500 Futures rose 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures advanced 0.1%.
In regular trading, all three major averages closed at records. He Dow rose 0.88%, while the broad market S&P 500 gained 1.17%, ending the session above 5,300 for the first time. heavy technology Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.40%.
That performance was helped by the April reading of the consumer's price indexa broad measure of how much goods and services cost at the register, which increased 0.3% of the previous month. That was slightly below the Dow Jones estimate of 0.4%. Consumer prices still grew by 3.4% compared to the previous year.
"The market is recognizing that inflation dynamics look favorable," Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment officer at BMO Wealth Management, told CNBC. "If you combine that with some of the takeaways from earnings season, which were pretty healthy earnings and generally favorable prospects, the market was simply prepared to interpret the news as good."
"[That] "It's the hallmark of a bull market," he added, "to take something that might be two-sided and call it good."
On Thursday, investors have a slew of economic data to look forward to, including the widely watched weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index.
Investors also hope Walmart winnings, which must be paid before the bell rings, along with under the armor and Baidu.
