Stock Futures Little Changed on September Consumer Inflation Report: Live Update

U.S. stock futures were little changed on Wednesday night as investors awaited the release of September's consumer price index report.

The future is bound Dow Jones Industrial Average Traded near the flatline. S&P 500 futures inch less by 0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.04%.

D S&P 500 And Dao Wednesday's session ended with fresh record closings. The broad market index rose 0.71%, also registering an all-time high during trading, while the 30-stock Dow jumped more than 400 points, or 1%. The big tech stock rally was a notable gainer, lifting Nasdaq Composite 0.6% advance.

Investors will be closely watching the September CPI report on Thursday morning, looking for further signs that inflation is on a cooling trend. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a 0.1% increase on a monthly basis and a 2.3% advance over the previous 12 months.

The outcome will also inform the Federal Reserve's next policy moves at its November meeting. Fed funds futures trading data suggests a roughly 70% chance of a quarter-point cut, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Wolff Research chief economist Stephanie Roth thinks a 50 basis point cut is “off the table” and the question now is whether the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points or hold steady in November. “The base case for us is that they are capable of cutting,” he said on Wednesday's “Power Lunch.” “Tomorrow's CPI should be supportive, with core CPI coming in at 0.3%.” Economists polled by Dow Jones saw core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rise 0.2% on a monthly basis.

Other economic releases on Thursday morning included weekly initial jobless claims.

Wall Street will also be watching Delta Air Lines' Quarterly earnings release on Thursday before hours.