Futures Rise as Inflation Cools, BlackRock Sees Optimism in US Equities

U.S. stock futures rose Thursday morning as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices increased, while the Nasdaq 100 declined. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.4% year-over-year in July, meeting expectations. Investors will review July's PPI and ex-food & energy PPI data before the opening bell.

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.67%, while the two-year bond was at 4.17%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing a 36.1% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates during its September meeting.

Cisco Systems, Netflix, and Applied Materials were among the stocks in focus Thursday morning. Cisco Systems maintains a strong price trend, according to Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings. Netflix rose 1.83% after Bill Ackman disclosed a new position in the company with 3.15 million shares.

BlackRock maintains an optimistic outlook for U.S. equities despite economic headwinds. They project S&P 500 corporate earnings to grow by 11.6% annually over the next five years, driven by artificial intelligence boosting productivity and profit margins.