US equity futures rose on Friday, rebounding after four consecutive sessions of losses as the recent surge in oil prices paused ahead of the key consumer inflation report. Futures on the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq 100 were up about 0.5%.
Yields on longer-dated Treasuries eased from multi-year highs as fuel prices stabilized, following repeated escalations in tensions and strikes between Iran and the United States in the Persian Gulf. The run-up in energy prices since the start of the month has been expected to worsen an already elevated inflation outlook, with headline CPI forecast to hold at 3.4%.
Several FOMC officials have indicated that persistently high inflation could justify another rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday. Those remarks have weighed on credit-sensitive sectors this week, though those areas were seeing some relief in Friday’s session.
Megacap tech names including Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet edged higher in premarket trading, but all remained on track for steep weekly declines. In contrast, Oracle jumped 5.5% before the open after reporting a strong increase in its cloud infrastructure revenue.
