U.S. Stock Futures Plummet as Investors Await Inflation Data

U.S. stock index futures fell in volatile trading on Wednesday, September 30, as investors awaited inflation data and the final estimate of U.S. second-quarter GDP growth.

The Federal Reserve closely tracks the personal consumption expenditures price index for August, which economists surveyed by Reuters expected to show annual inflation of 3.7%.

According to CME's FedWatch tool, traders were almost evenly split on the likelihood of an interest rate hike in October versus rates remaining unchanged.

Tracy Shuchart, a senior economist at NinjaTrader, warned that if inflation comes in significantly above expectations, the Federal Reserve will almost certainly have to raise rates again in October.