Brendan McDermid | Reuters Stock futures were higher on Sunday night as Wall Street looked ahead to key inflation data due this week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 91 points, or 0.29%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.32% and 0.41%, respectively. The moves came after a winning week for US stocks, as all three major averages snapped a three-week losing streak. The Dow rose 2.66% for the week, while the S&P 500 gained 3.65%. The Nasdaq Composite was 4.14% higher. Stocks were volatile ahead of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, where the central bank is expected to raise interest rates for the third time in a row by 0.75 percentage points in a bid to fight high inflation. As Wall Street investors looked for signs that the size of future rate hikes may be smaller as inflation cools, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated last week that he is “strongly committed” to reducing inflation. This week, investors are looking ahead to the August consumer price index report, which is scheduled for release on Tuesday. The report is one of the last inflation figures the Fed will see before its meeting in September. The retail sales and industrial production reports will be released on Thursday. “With the expectation of another 0.3% hike in the key rate for August, if the number is higher, it will be negative for stocks and bonds. If the exposure is smaller, it will be a catalyst for a market rally said David Donabedian, Chief Investment Officer of CIBC Private Wealth US “Retail sales are also expected to be flat for the month of August, as they were last month.”
