Dow futures rise; inflation data, Disney earnings in focus

Investing.com — U.S. stock futures rose Thursday, helped by positive earnings from entertainment giant Disney and ahead of the eagerly-awaited monthly inflation report.

By 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), the contract was up 155 points, or 0.4%, traded 20 points, or 0.5% higher, and climbed 80 points, or 0.5%.

Optimism has returned to Wall Street after the benchmark equities indices recorded a down day on Wednesday, boosted by solid numbers from Walt Disney (NYSE:).

The blue-chip fell almost 200 points, or 0.5%, during the prior session, while the tech-heavy slumped 1.2%, and the broad-based dropped 0.7%.

Positive Disney results boost sentiment

Walt Disney stock gained in premarket trading Thursday, boosting sentiment in the wider market, after the entertainment colossus announced plans to increase the prices of its streaming service and crack down on password sharing to help offset sputtering performance in its film and television divisions.

The streaming unit, which includes options like Disney+ and Hulu, narrowed its losses by more than anticipated in its fiscal third quarter following a bump up in subscription prices and marketing cost cuts.

Disney has also created a task force to study artificial intelligence and how it can be applied across the entertainment conglomerate, Reuters reported, citing three sources.

Earnings are also due from the likes of amusement park company Six Flags (NYSE:), donut chain Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:), and clothes maker Ralph Lauren (NYSE:), while the tech sector is likely to be in focus after U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled a ban on some investments into Chinese tech companies, opening up the possibility of retaliation.

Inflation data looms large

Away from the corporate sector, the day’s highlight will be the release of the consumer price index readings for July, which will provide investors with a fresh look at inflation in the world’s largest economy.

Analysts expect the to rise 0.2% for the month and 3.3% for the year, while the , which excludes the volatile food and energy components, is expected to rise 0.2% for the month and 4.8% for the year.

The next meets in September, and officials have said in recent days that they could be near a point where they could pause on further interest rate increases.

These numbers could go a long way toward confirming the end of the central bank’s aggressive rate-hiking cycle.

Crude drifts lower ahead of CPI release

Oil prices edged lower Thursday in a bout of profit taking, but remained near multi-month highs ahead of key U.S. inflation release.

U.S. crude unexpectedly grew in the week to August 4, data from the Energy Information Administration showed Wednesday. However, there was also a much bigger-than-expected draw in and stockpiles, suggesting U.S. fuel demand remained robust.

Oil prices have been boosted in recent days by extensions to output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia, exacerbating supply tightness.

By 06:30 ET, the futures traded 0.3% lower at $84.15 a barrel, while the contract dropped 0.2% to $87.42. Brent hit a six-month high on Wednesday, while WTI touched its strongest level since November 2022.

Additionally, rose 0.2% to $1,954.75/oz, while traded 0.5% higher at 1.1027.

(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)