Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on September 29, 2026 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty ImagesUSA Stock futures rose early Wednesday as the release of the September consumer inflation report loomed. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.22% and 0.29%, respectively, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.14%. Shares of Bank of America fell more than 2% in extended trading after the company was hit with more than $1.2 billion in federal fines, and regulators said the bank failed to report more than $5 billion in “suspicious” transactions. The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.62%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.32%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.82%. A drop in chip stocks weighed on the major averages on Tuesday, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) falling for the sixth straight session on growing fears of an AI spending bubble and growing anxieties around competition outside of China. A number of big banks posted strong quarterly results, but stocks ended the day lower, with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup falling. The market reaction suggested that companies have a higher bar to clear during the third-quarter earnings season, especially in technology, where semiconductors are expected to be the biggest contributor to year-over-year earnings growth. S&P 500 companies are expected to post a combined earnings growth rate of about 30%, while semiconductors and semiconductor equipment will post 130% growth, according to FactSet data. “The fundamentals of the business are very strong. It’s very difficult to argue the demand side of chips,” Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” “I don’t know that we necessarily question how good those business fundamentals are as much as we question how much valuation is left in the space.” Investors are awaiting the September reading of the US consumer price index on Wednesday morning. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect inflation to have risen 3.6% year over year, up from 3.4% in the previous reading. The results come as oil prices remain elevated and consumers pay more for gasoline, which averages $4.34 per gallon, compared with $3.08 per gallon a year earlier, according to AAA. Last week, President Donald Trump announced he would temporarily ease restrictions on Russian diesel fuel exports, but analysts don’t think the deal will do much to lower fuel prices for truckers and farmers. Earnings season continues, with more big bank results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley released Wednesday morning US time. Dutch semiconductor company ASML also reports.
