NEW YORK, June 12 — US stock index futures rose today, setting Wall Street up for a fresh round of gains, while investors awaited inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision this week.

The US Labour Department’s consumer price index reading today, also the first day of the Fed’s meeting, is expected to show inflation cooled slightly in May but core prices are likely to have remained elevated.

Traders see a 72 per cent chance of the central bank hold interest rates at the 5 per cent-5.25 per cent range on Wednesday, while pricing in a 56 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point increase in July, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.

The benchmark S&P 500 notched gains for a fourth straight week on Friday, building on a 20 per cent rise from its October 2022 lows, heralding the start of a new bull market as defined by some market participants.

A rally in megacap stocks, better-than-expected quarterly earnings and hopes that the Fed might be nearing the end of its tightening cycle have caused indexes to rise in recent weeks.

Since last week, the rally has broadened beyond megacaps to include more economically sensitive sectors such as energy, industrial and small-cap stocks as data continues to show a resilient US economy despite higher interest rates.

Goldman Sachs on Friday raised its year-end price target for the benchmark S&P 500 to 4,500 from 4,000, citing the broadening of the market rally.

At 7:36 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 36 points, or 0.11 per cent, S&P 500 e-minis were up 11.5 points, or 0.27 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 69.5 points, or 0.48 per cent.

The CBOE volatility index edged up after hitting pre-pandemic levels in the previous week, up 0.71 point to 14.5.

Biogen shares rose 2.5 per cent in premarket trading after a US FDA panel of advisers unanimously backed its Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi, stoking hopes that a traditional approval for the treatment might not come with major new safety warnings.

Adobe shares gained 1.9 per cent after Jefferies raised the Photoshop maker’s price target to US$530 (RM2,449), the second highest on Wall Street.

Oracle rose 4.1 per cent as J.P. Morgan hiked its price target to US$109, ahead of the cloud and enterprise software firm’s fourth-quarter results later in the day.

US-listed shares of Nio added 4.3 per cent after the Chinese EV maker slashed prices on its cars as lukewarm sales pressure the company.

Nasdaq Inc slid 7.5 per cent after the exchange operator said it would buy Thoma Bravo-owned software firm Adenza for US$10.5 billion. — Reuters