U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Thursday as optimism around a pause in interest rate hikes waned, while a drop in shares of Cisco and Palo Alto on dour forecast further weighed on sentiment.
Wall Street's main indexes gained this week after key inflation readings including the consumer and producer price indexes showed signs of cooling inflation in the world's largest economy, underscoring hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve was most likely done hiking interest rates.
In an action-packed week, markets took comfort from easing inflation data and the U.S. Senate avoiding a government shutdown, although uncertainty around when the central bank might start cutting interest rates have kept investors on edge.
"Investors threw the Fed’s 'higher for longer' mantra out of the window this week," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
"But this is certainly as good as it gets in terms of Fed optimism. If the markets go faster than the music, the Fed must calm down the game by a tough talk, and if needed, by more action."
While money markets have fully priced in a probability that the Fed will hold rates steady in the December meeting, they see a 48% chance in a rate cut in May 2024, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
A slew of Fed Policymakers are slated to speak during the day, including voting members New York Fed President John Williams and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr, with markets eyeing for clues regarding the monetary policy trajectory.
Investors will also await a raft of economic data due later in the day, including the weekly jobless claims numbers for the week ended Nov. 11, the Philly Fed Business index and industrial production data.
Cisco Systems shed 10.9% before the bell, as the communications and networking firm cut its full-year revenue and profit forecasts on slowing demand for its networking equipment.
At 5:33 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 11 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.5 points, or 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 20.25 points, or 0.13%.
Among other stocks, Palo Alto Networks fell 5.9% premarket after the cybersecurity company forecast its second-quarter billings below market expectations due to inflationary pressures.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms such as PDD HoldingsO>, Baidu and Li Auto fell between 0.7% and 3.1%, tracking a fall in Chinese stocks following "disappointing" talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Data also showed continued weakness in China's property sector. [.SS]
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
