U.S. equity futures were largely unchanged on Wednesday evening following a positive session on Wall Street. This stability was primarily driven by weaker-than-expected inflation readings for June, including both the consumer price index and the producer price index, which effectively reduced the probability of an immediate interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated commitment to the 2% inflation target in Congressional testimony, leading traders to trim bets on a near-term Fed rate hike.
Despite the positive inflation news and solid corporate reports from a number of banks, overall market optimism was capped by two main factors: persistent military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran in the Gulf region, which kept oil prices elevated, and significant losses across chipmaking stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell more than 2% on Wednesday, with ASML Holding's strong results failing to fully restore investor confidence in the sector, raising skepticism about the sustainability of recent AI-driven re-ratings. Attention now shifts to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which is expected to report strong second-quarter earnings on Thursday.
Looking ahead, investors are awaiting Thursday's retail sales and weekly jobless claims data for further insights into the economy. The earnings season continues with key reports from UnitedHealth Group, GE Aerospace, Netflix, and Abbott Laboratories. S&P 500 futures were up 0.1% at 7622.50 points, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1% to 29721.75 points, and Dow Jones futures rose 0.1% to 52939.0 points.
In other corporate news, shares of psychedelic drugmaker AtaiBeckley Inc. (ATAI) soared 64.70% to $8.83 after hours, reaching about 67% of its 52-week range. This surge followed reports that Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) is in talks to acquire AtaiBeckley, with a deal possibly announced as soon as this week. AtaiBeckley is known for developing BPL-003, a nasal spray for depression, with earlier trials showing 66.7% of patients having an antidepressant response by Day 2, sustained through Week 12.
