Traders work on New York Stock Exchange's floor (NYSE) December 7, 2018 in New York City Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThe US futures were volatile on Thursday morning after the Dow and S&P hit new highs on Wednesday.Investors are waiting for producer price index data. This could give them more insight into US inflation and the Fed's path.Asian shares fell after investor concerns over Chinese regulatory crackdowns surfaced.Subscribe to our daily newsletter 10 Things Before The Opening Bell.After markets closed the regular session at record highs, US stock futures fell Thursday as investors waited to see new economic data that would shed light on Federal Reserve's policy direction.Futures of major indexes were flat with S&P 500 futures increasing 0.02%, Nasdaq futures decreasing 0.07%, and Dow Jones futures rising 0.12% at 6:12 a.m. E.T. ThursdayAfter the release of US inflation data, both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed at records highs on Wednesday. The data was generally in line with analysts' expectations. Investor concerns were calmed by the slower rate of July's consumer price index growth than June's 0.5%.Investors have expressed concern that the Fed might be forced to reduce its bond purchases sooner than expected, as inflation has reached multiyear highs. However, the Fed insists that higher inflation rates are temporary.Mary Daly, President of San Francisco Fed, stated in a Thursday interview that the central bank might begin to taper its stimulus in this year's fiscal year. She believes the US economy will continue its strong recovery post-pandemic.She told the Financial Times that the Federal Reserve could reduce its ultra-accommodative stimulus monetary policy by the end the year, given the economic recovery.The US will release a report on Thursday regarding weekly initial jobless claims. This report is likely to show signs of labor market recovery that could impact Fed's decisions.A producer price index update is due to be released later on Thursday. This will provide a reading of US inflation as a function of production.Michael Hewson, chief market analyst for CMC markets, commented that if today's USPI numbers for July follow a similar trend to yesterday's CPI then that could strengthen further the transitory narrative the US Federal Reserve has been pushing for for many months.Asia saw a significant increase in Delta coronavirus variants cases, which continued to weigh on the markets. There were also signs of regulatory pressure coming from China."Regulatory threats have had a limited impact on today's stock market, but the lesson seems to be that China stock gains will be limited for a while because of them. Jeffrey Halley, Oanda's senior market analyst, stated in a note that he doubts the low price to government risks ratio for China equities has completed its repricing exercise.Asian markets fell on Thursday with Tokyo's Nikkei225 closing 0.2% lower. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.22% and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended the session 0.822% lower.Early on, European markets were mixed. Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.22% while the Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.22%.London's FTSE 100 fell by 0.15% following the publication of the second quarter reading on UK gross national product. This showed that the country's economy grew 1% in June.After rising on Wednesday when the U.S. Energy Information Administration had reported that crude inventories were falling, oil prices fell on Thursday. Brent crude traded at $71.36 per bar, down 0.1% from the previous day, while WTI crude dropped 0.6% to $69.14 per bar.
