Near 7:09 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down 60 points, S&P 500 futures were down 4 points, and Nasdaq futures were down 10 points. Yesterday, the Dow logged its first negative close in four days. Stocks finished slightly lower and have been locked in quite a tight range for a while now.
At 8:30 a.m. we'll get the latest reading on inflation through the consumer price index. Economists estimate, according to Bloomberg, that the index rose 0.2% month-on-month and year-over-year. Excluding the volatile food and energy component, they are looking for a 0.2% gain in July from June, and 1.8% year-on-year.
Ahead of the release, the dollar index was slightly lower near 96.95. Treasuries gained, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note a bit lower at 2.19%.
At 2:00 p.m., the Federal Reserve will release minutes of its July meeting, which some market participants believe may be the last before a possible rate hike next month.
Data on US crude oil inventories is also due this morning, at 10:30 a.m. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures is under $43 per barrel again in New York, near $42.88.
Chinese stocks bounced back. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained more than 1% today, following a 6.15% decline on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid wrote in a client note that investors were concerned that state intervention in the market may be less frequent that before.