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DJIA Futures: +148 (+0.4%)
SPX Futures: +21 (+0.5%)
NASDAQ Futures: +72 (+0.5%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are up as traders digest a slew of economic data.
Let’s get right to it!
Wholesale Inflation Comes In Hot
U.S. wholesale inflation pressures were hotter than expected in August.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price index rose 0.7% monthly and 1.6% year over year.
That was higher than economists’ expectations for 0.4% monthly and 1.3% annually and driven by higher gas prices.
The BLS report said over 60% of the August increase was due to gas prices, which surged 20% during the month.
It was the fastest monthly increase in headline PPI since June 2022.
The core PPI rose 0.2% monthly and 2.2% annually.
That was in line with expectations.
Retail Sales Jump
U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in August for the second month in a row.
The Commerce Department reported retail sales jumped 0.6% to $697.6 billion.
That was higher than expectations for just a 0.1% gain.
Like inflation, the jump was driven by higher gas prices.
Sales at gas stations jumped 5.2% in August from July.
Clothing and accessories store sales rose 0.9%, health and personal care sales were up 0.5%, and grocery store sales increase 0.4%.
Three categories saw a decrease in sales totals.
Furniture store sales were down 1%, miscellaneous store sales fell 1.3%, and sporting goods sales dropped 1.6%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Rise
Weekly jobless claims rose less than expected last week.
The Labor Department reported 220,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits.
That was up by 3,000 from the previous week but lower than 225,000 expected.
Continuing claims rose by 9,000 to 1.688 million in the week ending September 2, below estimates for 1.693 million.
ARM Awaits IPO
Chipmaker Arm Holdings is set to make its debut on the Nasdaq later today.
The company priced its IPO at $51 per share Wednesday, valuing it at $54 billion.
It will trade under the ticker symbol ARM.
The U.K.-based company is expected to list at least 95.5 million American depository shares on the Nasdaq.
In its prospectus, Arm reported fiscal 2023 revenue of $2.68 billion and profit of $524 million.
Arm’s largest customers, including Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Intel (INTC) said they would buy shares as part of the IPO.
Delta Cuts Profit Forecast, Upbeat On Revenue
Delta (DAL) shares are rising 2.4% ahead of the open after cutting its Q3 profit outlook but issuing upbeat revenue guidance.
The airline now expects adjusted EPS between $1.85 and $2.05 in the current quarter, down from $2.20 to $2.50 previously
But the company’s revenue outlook is rosier.
Delta expects Q3 revenue to be in the “upper half” of its previous guidance for growth of 11% to 14%.
The airline blamed the lower profit outlook on higher fuel costs.
