How are stock-index futures trading:
S&P 500 futures are up 0.1%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are adding 0.1%.
Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 0.1%.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47 points, or 0.11%, to 43,958, the S&P 500 increased 1 points, or 0.02%, to 5,985, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 51 points, or 0.26%, to 19,231.
Futures suggest another muted start to trading on Wall Street as the post-election ebullience is kept in check by the sight of benchmark Treasury yields close to the 4.5% mark.
Trader wariness over inflation is building once again as the market assesses the likely impact of president-elect Trump’s immigration, tax-cutting and tariff proposals.
The move higher in Treasury yields is also underpinned by a consumer prices report released Wednesday showing the pace of annual price increases in October nudging back up to 2.6% from 2.4% the month before.
With this in mind, traders will be keen to hear what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says when he delivers a speech at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
Rising Treasury yields have pushed the dollar index to 106.90 and close to its highest level in two years.
“The dollar has also been given a boost by a murky outlook for inflation, which may impact Fed rate cuts in the future, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
“The stock market rally is on pause, however, volatility remains low for U.S. stocks, so we do not think that we will see any significant downside in U.S. equities from here,” Brooks added.