# U.S. stock futures point higher as inflation worries fade

What’s driving the market?

Rising inflation has been blamed for heightened stock-market volatility after data earlier this month showed the consumer-price index rose 4.2% year-over-year in April. The data prompted fears the Federal Reserve could move earlier than anticipated to begin pulling back on its monetary policy accommodation.

Since then, Fed officials, with few exceptions, have offered reassurances that they view near-term inflation pressures as transitory, signaling they would look through a near-term pickup in price pressures as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

“As a chorus of Fed officials reiterated that the recent pickup in inflation would be transitory, investor fears were soothed about rising prices forcing higher interest rates,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, in a note. “U.S. equity bulls rejoiced on this development, encouraging buying in expensive growth stocks in sectors such as technology.”

Reassurances by Fed officials, however, haven’t fully erased investor worries, he said, which means markets will remain highly sensitive to changes in inflation expectations and remarks by policy makers, he said.

Bitcoin prices have stabilized, squelching another source of broader market volatility, after extending a tumble last week that took the price of the digital asset down 50% from its all-time high above $60,000 over the weekend.

Read: Dogecoin, bitcoin prices climb as Elon Musk solicits help to improve meme coin, talks sustainability with miners

The CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. home price index for March is due at 10 a.m. Eastern. A May consumer-confidence index reading is due at 10 a.m., while data an April new-home sales is slated for the same time.

Which companies are in focus?

• Shares of Lordstown Motors Corp.
  RIDE,
  +0.94%
  were down 14% in premarket trade after the electric-vehicle startup late Monday reported a wider quarterly loss and said it is seeking “additional capital” to fund itself.

• AutoZone Inc.
  AZO,
  -0.81%
  shares were up 0.1% after reporting earnings and revenue that topped forecasts, while same-store sales in the fiscal third quarter rose 28.9%.

• Amazon.com Inc.
  AMZN,
  +1.31%
  is near a deal to acquire Hollywood studio MGM Holdings for almost $9 billion including debt, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Amazon shares were up 0.8%.

• Moderna Inc.
  MRNA,
  +1.68%
  on Tuesday said a new study showed its COVID-19 vaccine was effective in children aged 12 to 17, a finding that could clear the way for a second-shot for use in adolescents. Moderna shares were up more than 2%.

• Shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. 
  CBRL,
  +0.33%
   jumped 2.9%, after the restaurant and retail company reported a fiscal third-quarter profit beat and restarted its dividend program, with a $1.00 per share quarterly payout. 

• Vimeo will begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ‘VMEO’ after being spun off from IAC/InterActive Corp.
  IAC,
  +2.05%.

What are other markets doing?

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
  TMUBMUSD10Y,
  1.598%
  was down 1.4 basis points at $1.591%. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions.

• The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
  DXY,
  -0.16%,
  a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.2%.

• Oil futures drifted lower, with the U.S. benchmark
  CL00,
  -0.21%
  down 0.5% at $65.72 a barrel. Gold futures
  GC00,
  -0.03%
  were flat $1,884.50 an ounce.

• The Stoxx Europe 600 index
  SXXP,
  +0.23%
  rose 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100
  UKX,
  -0.08%
  was virtually flat.

• The Shanghai Composite
  SHCOMP,
  +2.40%
  rose 2.4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
  HSI,
  +1.75%
  gained 1.8% and Japan’s Nikkei 225
  NIK,
  +0.67%
  advanced 0.7%.