US stock futures were little changed in premarket trading on Wednesday as investors braced for fresh Consumer Price Index data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded flat, while S&P 500 futures edged up 0.2% and Nasdaq-100 contracts rose 0.6%. Economists expect the Consumer Price Index to rise at a slower annual rate of 3.4% in July compared to June's 3.5% increase, with a 0.1% month-over-month climb. A hotter-than-expected print could strengthen the case for the Fed to raise rates in September, while signs of easing inflation could give the Fed room to hold rates steady, with traders pricing in a roughly 50-50 chance of a rate hike. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East have propped up inflation and yields, with Brent crude futures near $90 per barrel after the US enforced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by firing on a Panama-flagged ship.
