US stocks edged up before the bell on Monday, ready to build on a string of gains as attention turned to the coming inflation report seen as a potential starting gun for interest rate cuts.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose roughly 0.2%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) moved up about 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) hovered above the flatline, coming off the best week of the year for the blue-chip index.
Stocks have come back strong in May on the back of better-than-expected earnings and a revival of optimism for a Federal Reserve easing in monetary policy. The Dow notched eight straight daily wins in a row on Friday — though a dearth of economic releases likely played a part.
After recent hot inflation data, markets have been more skittish as investors have increasingly priced in "no landing," where price increases don't come down to the Fed's target, but the economy keeps growing.
This week brings a flood of economic releases as potential catalysts, with Wednesday's Consumer Price Index update the star. The CPI update for April will shed light on whether inflation is staying sticky into the second quarter amid some belief on Wall Street that the report will mark a faster descent and set the stage for more than one rate cut this year.