September S&P 500 futures (ESU23) are up +0.19%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU23) are up +0.23% this morning as investors awaited a crucial U.S. inflation report that will heavily influence market expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s future monetary policy actions.
In Tuesday’s trading session, the blue-chip Dow outperformed major benchmarks, underpinned by an over +4% gain in 3M Company (MMM) after Bank of America upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform. Also, Newell Brands (NWL) surged about +11% and was the top percentage gainer on the benchmark S&P 500 after Canaccord initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating. In addition, Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI) climbed more than +10% after a district judge rejected a request from the Federal Trade Commission to block Microsoft’s $69B acquisition of the videogame company. On the bearish side, microchip stocks lost ground, with Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) slumping over -2% and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) falling about -2%.
