Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures hold steady ahead of inflation data, Nvidia earnings

US stock market futures remained essentially unchanged in early trading on Wednesday as investors awaited two major economic releases and Nvidia's earnings report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures settled near neutral levels, while the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.2% after a strong day on Tuesday.

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, traders will learn whether the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric continues to decline, remains steady, or begins to rise, potentially increasing pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates. Economists anticipate a core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) figure of 3.3%, unchanged from the previous month.

The data arrives amidst growing uncertainty in the bond market and on the eve of the Jackson Hole annual Fed policymakers' conference, where Chairman Kevin Warsh will discuss the central bank's future policies. However, the market's focus will soon shift to the technology sector, specifically Nvidia, which will unveil its latest earnings after the market closes.

This quarterly report is seen as a crucial indicator of the artificial intelligence industry's profitability. Other companies slated to report their results on Wednesday include CrowdStrike, Williams-Sonoma, Okta, and Abercrombie & Fitch.