(Reuters) – S&P 500 futures rose in choppy trading on Thursday after a key inflation reading came in line with expectations, adding to hopes that the Federal Reserve will take a less aggressive approach at its next policy meeting.
The highly awaited Labor Department’s report showed consumer prices rose 6.5% year-on-year in December, in line with a forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
Money market participants expect an 85% chance of a 25-basis point rate hike by the Fed in February and see rates peaking at 4.91% in June..
At 8:37 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 66 points, or 0.19%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 5.25 points, or 0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 12 points, or 0.1%.
Moments before the data, Dow e-minis were up 126 points, or 0.37%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 16.25 points, or 0.41%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 39.75 points, or 0.35%.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)