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Wall Street Futures Tick Higher as 2026 Trading Begins

U.S. stock futures moved higher early Friday, signaling a confident start to the first trading session of 2026. The gains follow a strong multi‑year run for equities and come as investors look ahead to a new year of economic and corporate developments. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up, S&P 500 futures posted a modest rise, and Nasdaq futures led the early advance with a stronger uptick. The move reflects continued enthusiasm for technology and growth‑oriented sectors, which helped drive markets through much of the previous year. Despite bouts of volatility in late 2025, major indexes closed the year with solid performance, supported by resilient consumer spending, easing inflation pressures, and expectations of a more accommodative monetary environment. As 2026 begins, traders are watching several themes: the timing and pace of potential interest‑rate cuts, the durability of tech‑sector leadership, and whether gains will broaden across more industries. Early future...
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Inflation Falls in June for First Time Since 2020

A closely-watched report on US inflation revealed that consumer price increases cooled further during the month of June. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 0.1% over the previous month and increased just 3.0% over the prior year in June. This marks a deceleration from May’s flat month-over-month increase and the 3.3% annual gain in prices. Notably, it’s the first time since May 2020 that monthly headline CPI came in below 0%.

On a “core” basis, which excludes the more volatile costs of food and gas, prices in June climbed 0.1% over the prior month and 3.3% over last year—cooler than May’s data. Economists had expected a 0.2% monthly uptick in core prices and a 3.4% year-over-year increase.

The markets responded to this report, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling about 9 basis points to trade around 4.2%. While inflation has remained stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target on an annual basis, recent economic data suggests that the central bank may consider cutting rates sooner than later. Markets are now pricing in a roughly 87% chance that the Federal Reserve will begin rate cuts at its September meeting.

This data adds to other rate cut signals across the labor market and economy. The labor market added 206,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, ahead of economists’ expectations. However, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.1%, the highest reading in almost three years.

Notably, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge—the core PCE price index—showed inflation easing in May, with a year-over-year change of 2.6%, in line with estimates and the slowest annual gain in more than three years.


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