- US stocks traded lower on Thursday as investors focused on Friday's anticipated inflation report.
- Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the consumer price index to have been unchanged at 8.3% in May.
- Investors also digested the European Central Bank's decision to not hike interest rates on Thursday.
US stocks traded lower on Thursday as investors digested the European Central Bank's plan next month to hike interest rates for the first time in a decade.
The decision comes as Europe grapples with an imminent recession, caused by surging commodity and food prices, which has been exacerbated by Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
US investors have turned their attention to Friday's consumer price index report, which will reveal if prices continued to rise in the month of May. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the CPI to have been unchanged at 8.3% in May, and expect core inflation to have fallen to 5.9% from 6.2% in April.
Any slowdown in rising inflation would be a relief for investors, as it would be a relief for the all-important consumer and potentially give the Federal Reserve some breathing room in its current tightening cycle.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 4,106.82, down 0.22%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,850.88, down 0.18% (60.02 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 12,015.78, down 0.58%
Natural gas prices surged 33% across Europe on Thursday after a fire broke out at a US export hub, putting further pressure on already tight global supplies. The Freeport liquefied natural gas export facility in Quintana, Texas, will remain closed for at least three weeks after an explosion.
Bill Ackman's SPAC, which raised $4 billion from investors, may have to return the money as it has just six weeks to find a target company and make a deal. The SPAC and IPO market have floundered so far this year amid a broader decline in equity markets.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell as much as much as 0.61% to $121.37 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell as much as 0.40% to $123.16.
Bitcoin fell 0.51% to $30,121. Ether prices fell 0.19% to $1,795.
Gold fell as much as 0.24% to $1,852.10 per ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose 2 basis points to 3.04%.