Investing.com-- U.S. stock futures were largely unchanged Tuesday evening after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher on optimism around the U.S.-China trade deal, and a softer-than-expected consumer inflation print.
S&P 500 Futures inched 0.1% higher to 5,908.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures were muted at 21,290.50 points by 19:56 ET (23:56 GMT). Dow Jones Futures ticked up 0.1% to 42,265.0 points.
S&P 500 ends higher on soft CPI print, US-China trade deal cheer
In the regular trading session on Tuesday, the S&P 500 index rose 0.7%, while theNASDAQ Composite jumped 1.6%.
However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.6% lower, dragged by a nearly 18% slump in UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) shares.
The health insurer suspended its full-year financial forecast over a spike in medical costs, while its CEO, Andrew Witty, decided to step down from the helm of the company.
Meanwhile, data on Tuesday showed that inflation remained contained, even as economists weighed the impact of rapidly evolving U.S. trade policies.
The headline consumer price index grew by 2.3% in the 12 months to April, compared with expectations that it would match March’s pace of 2.4%.
Month-on-month, the measure came in at 0.2%, where estimates had called for an uptick of 0.3%.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile items like food and fuel, also rose 0.2% on a monthly basis, below the 0.3% expected.
The positive sentiment was also supported as the U.S. and China on Monday agreed to temporarily lower soaring tariffs placed on each other.
The U.S. will reduce its tariff on Beijing from 145% to 30%, while China will lower its retaliatory tariff from 125% to 10%, both for 90 days. The U.S. will also bring down tariffs on lower-value products imported from China.
“So while the de-escalation of trade tensions is helpful for growth, it also makes it more likely that inflation will be less of an issue for the Federal Reserve and the scope for Fed rate cuts remains,” ING analysts said in a note.
ING still expects the Fed to wait until September to cut rates, but said a 25bp cut seems more likely now than the previously anticipated 50bp.
Nvidia surges on major chip deal; Boeing gains on China ban removal
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares closed 5.6% higher on Tuesday after announcing the sale of 18,000 AI chips to Saudi Arabian company Humain. The Saudi-based company intends to use the chips to build its 500 megawatt data center.
Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) stock rose more than 2% after Bloomberg reported that China has removed a month-long ban preventing local airlines from taking delivery of its planes.
Elsewhere, Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) stock rose after the sportswear maker’s quarterly revenue topped expectations, while Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) shares surged, with the crypto exchange set to join the S&P 500 index on May 19.
