It's been a rough year for the stock market.
AP Photo/Richard Drew
US futures were little changed Wednesday as investors waited for key economic data that is expected to show that inflation hit 7% in December.
The S&P 500 futures were up 0.12%, the Dow Jones futures were up 0.14%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.16%.
The S&P 500 fell for five consecutive sessions. The Federal Reserve is planning to tighten monetary policy in order to keep the economic show on the road, according to testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Powell.
Tech stocks have been hit hard this year by rising bond yields, so investors bought the dip in some of them, which helped the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 rally.
After some respite, traders and investors were once again braced for potential volatility, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics set to release December's consumer price index inflation figures at 8.30 a.m. The time is later.
Analysts expect inflation to have risen to a new 39-year high of 7% last month, after hitting 6.8% in November.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at trading platform CMC Markets, said that the data could spark volatility if it was well north of 7%.
He said that the US inflation rate is likely to be a key indicator of how many Fed rate hikes are coming.
New and used cars, rents, and holiday travel could all add to the pressure on prices in the December reading, according to a note by Jiefu Luo and Justin Weidner.
They said that inflation is likely to peak in January and start cooling for the rest of the year, although it should remain well above the Fed's 2% target.
The 10 investment trusts crushed the best open-ended funds in 2021, with one doubling buyers' money in just 12 months.
European stocks rose in early trading Wednesday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 1.4% and London's FTSE 100 0.74% higher.
Asian equities rose overnight. The CSI 300 in China climbed 1% while the Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rallied 1.92%, with investors cheering the rebound in US stocks.
After cooling on Tuesday, bond yields were little changed. The yield on the key 10-year US Treasury note was flat at 1.746%, near its highest in two years.
As investors prepare for the Fed to raise interest rates, they demand higher returns on fixed-income securities.
The yield on the 10-year note shot up from around 1.5% at the end of the year to near its highest levels since the start of the epidemic. The move has made investors rethink the value of flashy technology stocks, whose future earnings look less attractive when yields are higher.
The market continued to reflect expectations of robust growth and demand in 2022, as oil prices were mixed Wednesday. The price of crude was down while the price of oil was up.
The price of the digital currency rose 1.9% to $42,814. Expectations that the Fed will bring an end to the easy-money era in 2022, hit it hard and it remained well below its record high of close to $69,000 touched in November.
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