U.S. stock futures are signalling a strong start to Thursday’s session, pointing to a potential rebound after equities suffered heavy losses in the prior trading day.
Sentiment improved after the U.S. Labor Department released consumer inflation figures showing price pressures easing more than expected. The data helped calm fears that stubborn inflation could delay further interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The report showed annual consumer price inflation slowed to 2.7% in November, down from 3.0% in September, defying expectations for an increase to 3.1%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, also eased to 2.6% from 3.0%, when it had been expected to remain unchanged. The Labor Department noted that October 2025 survey data was not collected due to the federal government shutdown.
The cooler inflation readings are likely to bolster confidence that the Fed will continue easing monetary policy into the new year, supporting risk assets.
Markets had a difficult session on Wednesday. After finishing Tuesday with mixed results, stocks initially moved higher early in Wednesday’s trading before sellers quickly regained control. The major indexes fell sharply from their intraday highs and ended the session near their lows.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the decline, falling 418 points, or 1.8%, to 22,693. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 6,721, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5% to 47,886.
Technology stocks bore the brunt of the selloff. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) tumbled 5.4% to a six-month closing low after a Financial Times report said its largest data centre partner, Blue Owl Capital, would not support a $10 billion project in Michigan, though the company later said the project remains on track.
Other major technology names, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), also posted sharp losses. Semiconductor shares were among the weakest performers, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index sliding 3.8%.
Selling pressure extended beyond technology, with computer hardware, networking, airline, brokerage and housing stocks also declining.
Energy shares, however, moved higher, tracking a rebound in crude oil prices from their lowest levels since early 2021. Oil prices rose after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela.
In a Truth Social post, Trump labelled the government of President Nicolas Maduro a foreign terrorist organisation and said he was ordering a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” entering and leaving Venezuela.
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