Futures muted, key inflation data on tap

U.S. stock index futures were muted on Monday at the beginning of a week packed with economic data points, including a key inflation reading that will be scrutinized for signs of whether the Federal Reserve is succeeding in its attempt to cool prices.

At 5:06 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 33 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1 points, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 15.5 points, or 0.12%.

U.S. stock indexes staged a late-week rally on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) posting its biggest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 6 after upbeat results from Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and U.S. jobs data highlighting a resilient labor market.

Focus will be on the Labor Department’s inflation data on Wednesday, which is expected to show the consumer price index (CPI) likely climbed 0.4% in April, after gaining 0.1% in March, while excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI likely increased 0.4% last month.

Data on producer prices, weekly jobless claims, and on consumer sentiment are all lined up through the week.

This report’s information was first seen on REUTERS; to read more, click this link.