U.S. stock futures are relatively flat ahead of the Wall Street open after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 settled at all-time highs yesterday. Stocks have gotten a boost this week on the back of expected interest rate cuts after headline CPI came in below expectations.

Investor focus turns to more inflation data today with the PPI due this morning. Wholesale prices are expected to be up 0.2% M/M for headline and core while the Y/Y numbers are estimated to rise to 2.5% on headline and 2.9% for the core.

• Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are up 0.5% near $62.90 per barrel after hitting over 2 month lows yesterday. Markets are weighing the chances of a breakthrough in scheduled talks between Putin and Trump, which could in theory restore the flow of Russian oil to world markets. Supply is set to rise in any case, as OPEC+ producers restore output at a faster pace, and the IEA issued a bearish forecast yesterday. The organization projected that the global surplus will hit a record 2.96 million barrels per day next year, largely thanks to a flood of supply. U.S. government data was also bearish for oil, with crude inventories rising more than expected last week.

• Gold (/GC) – Gold prices are relatively flat near $3400 as the Dollar consolidates, although expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September limited losses.

• Bitcoin (/BTC) – The Crypto Future is down about 1.5% near 121,500 in the premarket.

• VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index was down 1.6% on Wednesday and settled at 14.49 as stocks were higher. It was the lowest closing price for the VIX since December 24th of 2024.

• U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is flat at 97.7.

• Scotiabank upgrades BP (BP) to Outperform from Sector Perform

• BofA upgrades Dow (DOW) to Neutral from Underperform

• BTIG upgrades Kratos Defense (KTOS) to Buy from Neutral

• BofA downgrades CF Industries (CF) to Underperform from Neutral

• Barclays downgrades Fortive (FTV) to Equal Weight from Overweight

• JPMorgan downgrades Li Auto (LI) to Neutral from Overweight

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