Futures before the bell
Futures trade outside regular stock hours, so they only hint at where the indexes may open. At 5:41 am ET, Reuters had Dow E-mini futures up 234 points (0.45%), S&P 500 E-minis up 16.25 points (0.21%) and Nasdaq-100 E-minis down 9 points (0.03%) [2]. Yahoo Finance's page, updated at 6:59 am ET, put Dow futures up 0.3%, S&P 500 futures up 0.1% and Nasdaq-100 futures down 0.1% [1]. Neither source named a contract month.
On Tuesday the Dow closed down 0.35% at 51,670.10, the S&P 500 down 0.02% at 7,805.45 and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.15% at 27,204.38 [5]. Reuters said chip stocks were mixed early Wednesday after a sharp pullback this week, set off by reports of design progress at a Chinese memory-chip maker; Micron was down 1.3% in premarket trading and Nvidia up 0.2% [2].
Overnight: Asian chip stocks steady, oil stays high
South Korea's Kospi fell 5.5% on Tuesday, its worst session in 21 months, Saxo said; early Wednesday Saxo had the Kospi up 1.40% and Japan's Nikkei 225 up 0.84% [3]. Yahoo Finance said the Kospi rose after a 12% decline over the previous five days [1].
Brent crude held above $100 a barrel after two vessels were struck in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported [2]; Yahoo Finance put Brent above $105 [1]. Saxo said the 10-year Treasury yield was steady early Wednesday at 5.20%, after dipping as low as 5.17% on Tuesday, and the 2-year yield was at 4.78% [3].
Inflation data, bank earnings and the Fed
The Labor Department's September is due at 8:30 am ET. Economists polled by Reuters expected headline inflation to rise to an annual 3.6% and core prices, which leave out food and energy, to rise 0.2% from August [2]. Yahoo Finance listed expectations of a 0.6% monthly rise in headline prices and 2.5% annual core inflation [1].
New York Fed President John Williams has said the Fed may need to raise rates once more this year, Reuters reported, and the CME FedWatch Tool showed about a 22% chance of a quarter-point hike [2]. The Fed's next policy meeting is October 27–28. The Fed releases its Beige Book survey of regional conditions at 2:00 pm ET, and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak in Bangkok at 10:55 pm ET [4]. Reuters said Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin also speaks late in the day [2].
Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock report before the open [2]. Bank of America shares were down 1.5% premarket after the bank disclosed a $1.21 billion regulatory fine that could weigh on third-quarter results, and Morgan Stanley was up 0.7% [2]. Yahoo Finance said BlackRock shares rose premarket after its results beat analysts' expectations [1]. Chip-equipment maker ASML also reports Wednesday [1].
What remains uncertain
Futures, overseas and yield readings are early-morning snapshots with different timestamps and will change before the 9:30 am ET open; contract months were not stated. Consensus figures are as Reuters and Yahoo Finance reported them. The FedWatch probability is as Reuters reported it before the release. Earnings details beyond BlackRock's beat were not yet available.
Sources
- [1] Yahoo Finance · Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures edge higher ahead of CPI inflation data, earnings · futures, calendar, expectations ↗Source
- [2] Reuters via Fresno Bee · S&P 500, Dow futures rise ahead of big bank results, CPI data · E-mini futures, oil, rate odds, earnings ↗Source
- [3] Saxo · Market Quick Take: Chip stocks steady in Asia before US inflation · Asia, Treasury yields ↗Source
- [4] Federal Reserve Board · Calendar · Beige Book and Fed speakers ↗Official source
- [5] TheStreet · Stock Market Today (Oct. 13, 2026) · Tuesday's closing levels ↗Source