S&P 500 futures are little changed as traders brace for crucial consumer inflation report: Live updates

S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Tuesday as traders awaited a pivotal consumer inflation report and digested new comments from a key Federal Reserve official.

Futures tied to the broad market index traded around the flatline, while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 156 points, or 0.3%. Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.4%.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in a speech Tuesday that he thinks a December rate hike is likely. He also opened the door for a larger half-point increase next month as inflationary pressures persist.

"While the precise timing of the hikes doesn't matter, ensuring that the promised hikes are implemented in a reasonable period of time does," he said.

Waller's comments came ahead of the October consumer price index report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones see headline CPI growing at a rate of 0.3% and core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rising 0.2% from the prior month.

This would mark a deceleration from September's readings, when headline CPI grew 0.6% and core CPI advanced 0.3%.

"We think the slowdown in core CPI will stem from a reversion of shelter prices, primarily owners' equivalent rents and lodging away from home. Similarly, the stabilization in diesel prices should help to quell price pressures in energy-intensive goods," wrote Christopher Hodge, chief economist of the U.S. at Natixis CIB Americas. 

Annual figures will not be provided for Tuesday's report because of the 2025 government shutdown. At that time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics was unable to collect some data which means there isn't a comparable figure for the index.

Across the Atlantic, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.64% higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.26%, with France's CAC 40 rising 0.88% and Germany's DAX up 0.94%.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi surged 4.3%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 added 2.89%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.42%, and mainland China's CSI 300 added 0.26%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.27%.

During the regular U.S. trading day, the Dow Industrials gained 1,104 points, or 2.2%, while the S&P 500 popped about 2.4%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.7%. Monday's rally came after a rocky week for markets, in which traders grew concerned about the potential for a slowdown in data center buildouts after Democrats posted big victories in the midterm elections.

Anthropic said it will offer 825 million shares in its upcoming IPO at a price range between $70 to $78 per share, according to an updated filing on Tuesday, bringing the five-year-old artificial intelligence lab a step closer to a potentially historic Nasdaq debut.

At the high end of the range, Anthropic would net up to $64.35 billion in proceeds through the IPO. The company could end up being worth up to $1.405 trillion on a fully diluted basis, up from the $965 billion valuation it announced as part of a funding round in May.

The Federal Reserve needs to follow through on an expected rate hike next month to maintain credibility, said Governor Christopher Waller, who also suggested a larger half-point increase may be warranted.

He said he is "leaning toward" a December increase, adding he would support "more robust action" if inflation readings are higher than expected.

"In that case, I believe a 50 basis point hike in the policy rate should be considered at the December meeting," he said. "Hiking only 25 basis points would put our credibility at risk, a risk I am not eager to take."

Nvidia shares edged higher in premarket trading Tuesday as investors continued to weigh the potential fallout from CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Nvidia shares closed more than 4% lower on Monday, the day after Huang told staff in an email that he had been "unfaithful" to his wife and had "fallen short" of his responsibilities as CEO.

Shares of European semiconductor firms rose in early trade, led by Infineon, which gained 4.8%.

The German semiconductor manufacturer posted a record fourth quarter on Tuesday, and forecast revenue growth of more than 20 percent in 2027. It said it expects revenue from power supplies for data centers to reach close to 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) next year.

Analysts at Citi said in a note Tuesday morning that Infineon's data center power forecast "provides a positive signal on underlying AI and data center demand despite recent concerns around deployment timelines."

Also notching gains on Tuesday were Dutch chipmaking equipment manufacturer ASMI, up 2.4%, and Be Semiconductor, which rose by 2.9%.

Europe-listed stocks opened broadly higher on Tuesday, building on strong gains seen in the previous session.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.9% shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors and all major regional bourses up. France's CAC 40 led gains, on a rise of 1.2%.

Crude oil futures were lower on Tuesday, extending a sharp decline that began last week.

As of 2:25 a.m. ET, front-month Brent crude oil futures were 1.3% lower at $91.45 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures shed 1.3% to trade at $85.70 a barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that fresh U.S. strikes on Iran were "highly unlikely," adding that "Iran militarily is effectively over."

Global benchmark Brent crude futures are currently down 6.9% for the week, after losing 16.4% the previous week on hopes of a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war.

Asia-Pacific markets closed in the green on Tuesday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 2.87% higher at 60,459.58, while the Topix was up 1.98% at 3,893.71.

South Korea's Kospi jumped 4.39% to end the trading day at 5,239.13, while the small-cap tech-heavy Kosdaq Index advanced 4.48% to 667.61.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.1% to 9,129.

China's CSI 300 inched marginally higher to 4,059.11, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.38% in its last hour of trade.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Tuesday reported October revenue of 586.89 billion New Taiwan dollars ($17.88 billion), up 59.7% from a year earlier and up 14.7% from the previous month.

The world's largest contract chipmaker benefited from strong demand for advanced semiconductors, as major technology companies continue to invest heavily in artificial intelligence.

German semiconductor maker Infineon posted an 11.5% year-on-year jump in annual revenue for its 2026 fiscal year, with revenues coming in at 16.35 billion euros ($18.36 billion) – in line with analyst estimates.

Operating profit reached 2.2 billion euros, up from 1.5 billion euros the previous year.

In guidance issued alongside its results on Tuesday morning, Infineon forecast full-year revenue of around 20 billion euros for 2027.

"Infineon closed the fiscal year 2026 with another record quarter and enters the new fiscal year with continued strong momentum," CEO Jochen Hanebeck said in a statement. "Supported by an ongoing cyclical recovery and strong demand in our structural growth areas, we expect a significant increase in revenue and profitability in fiscal year 2027. Our semiconductor solutions for data center power supplies, the expansion and modernization of energy infrastructure, electromobility, and software-defined vehicles will be key contributors."

Asian technology stocks surged Tuesday, tracking a rebound on Wall Street overnight as a sharp decline in oil prices lifted sentiment while renewed buying in chip names spilled over into Asia, following last week's bruising sell-off.

Japan's technology investment giant SoftBank Group surged 13.4%, while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest gained 2.36%. Semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose over 4.73%, while Lasertec and Disco advanced 6.74% and 6.01%, respectively.

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 5.2%, while Samsung Electronics rose 3.9%. Samsung SDI climbed 6.87%. Taiwan's TSMC added 0.45%.

China's tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index rose 1.4%.

The gains followed a strong session on Wall Street, where the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.74%, while the S&P 500 rose 2.35% to clock its best day since April 8.

The recovery came after a steep sell-off in global technology stocks last week, fueled by concerns that Democrats' sweeping victory in the U.S. midterm elections could lead to tighter restrictions on data-center development, potentially impacting demand for artificial intelligence chips and infrastructure.

China's exports and imports surged more than expected in October, according to official data released Tuesday, while its surplus shrank sharply, undershooting estimates.

Goods exports soared by 35.2% last month from a year earlier, exceeding expectations for a 33.5% jump in a Reuters poll but slowing from the 36.3% growth in September.

Imports climbed by 41.6% last month, customs data showed, jumping from 31% in September and sharply beating Reuters-polled analysts' estimates of a 32% rise.

The trade surplus dropped to $105.3 billion in October, the lowest level since April, according to LSEG data, with year-to-date figure at $1.04 trillion, compared to a record $1.2 trillion for the full year 2025. Calls from trading partners have grown louder for Beijing to boost domestic demand and balance its economy.

Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that the data was released on Tuesday.