U.S. stock futures steady with CPI on tap; Oracle firms on strong earnings

U.S. stock index futures remained stable on Thursday evening as traders awaited key consumer inflation data, while Oracle's stock climbed following impressive artificial intelligence-driven earnings. S&P 500 Futures remained at 7,600.75 points by 7:17 PM ET (11:17 PM GMT), Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 0.09% to 29,108.25 points, and Dow Jones Futures stayed steady at 52,105.0 points.

Futures steadied after a rough Wall Street session, where producer inflation data sparked concerns about rising inflation and interest rates. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which boosted oil prices, also kept markets on edge.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) surged 4.3% in after-hours trading after the software and cloud company delivered better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its annual guidance. The company also reported a lower-than-anticipated cash burn for the quarter, which raised hopes that its substantial AI investments were now yielding returns without straining its balance sheet.

Oracle secured over $30 billion in new AI cloud contracts in the period, bringing its revenue backlog to $664 billion, above analyst expectations. The firm elevated its fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings forecast by five cents to $8.10 per share, while keeping its spending target of $90 billion-$95 billion. This strong performance alleviated investor worries about excessive AI-linked spending and questionable returns from Oracle, which had previously declined by more than 20% so far in 2026.

Other notable performers included Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE), which fell 2% after recording strong quarterly earnings but offering slightly weaker guidance. Market focus is now on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data for August, due on Friday, which could provide further clues about the trajectory of interest rates.

Headline CPI is anticipated to have remained unchanged at 3.4%, while core CPI is expected to have slightly declined to 2.4%. However, markets remained vigilant for any signs of persistent inflation, particularly after a robust producer price index report for August released on Thursday. Traders increased their bets that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates next week, with CME Fedwatch showing a 66.7% probability of a 25 basis point hike, up from 60.4% the previous day.

U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday, as attempts by Washington to lower them faltered, adding to pressure on Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell 0.58%, the NASDAQ Composite dropped 0.65%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.6%.