Nasdaq futures jump ahead of CPI report: 5 things to know before Wall Street opens

US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday as investors braced for a July inflation report that could reset expectations for the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, while strong AI infrastructure earnings gave the Nasdaq an early lift.

S&P 500 futures rose about 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 contracts gained roughly 190 points, or 0.6%, while Dow futures were little changed.

The move followed a weaker Tuesday session, but results from CoreWeave and Super Micro Computer revived appetite for AI-linked stocks.

With headline inflation expected to ease to 3.4% and rate-hike odds still finely balanced, the market enters the session with two competing forces: softer inflation hopes and renewed confidence in AI growth.

5 things to know before Wall Street opens

1. CPI is the biggest event of the session

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release July CPI at 8.30 am ET.

Economists expect headline prices to rise 0.1% from June after a 0.4% decline, with the annual rate easing to 3.4% from 3.5%.

Core CPI is expected to rise 0.2% on the month and slow to about 2.5% year on year.

Markets are still almost evenly split over whether the Fed raises rates in September. A softer reading would reinforce the argument that inflation is cooling after the latest labour-market weakness.

A hotter print could lift Treasury yields and pressure richly valued growth shares. Market pricing put the probability of a September increase at roughly 52% ahead of the release.

2. Futures are higher, but Tuesday showed the rally is still sensitive

Wednesday’s gains follow a modest pullback in the cash market. The Dow fell 0.4% on Tuesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and the Nasdaq lost 0.6% as investors cut risk ahead of CPI.

The broader backdrop remains constructive.

The S&P 500 and Dow are still close to record territory, while the equal-weighted S&P 500 reached a record on Tuesday, suggesting the rally is broadening beyond megacap technology.

3. CoreWeave jumps as investors reward bigger spending

CoreWeave surged more than 15% before the bell after reporting second-quarter revenue of $2.58 billion, more than double a year earlier.

Revenue backlog reached about $104 billion at the end of June, before more than $25 billion of new customer commitments signed early in the third quarter.

The more striking number was spending. CoreWeave raised its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $35 billion-$39 billion from $31 billion-$35 billion and lifted its revenue outlook.

Investors rewarded that increase because demand visibility remains strong, even though the quarterly net loss widened to $626 million.

That response matters for the wider AI trade. CoreWeave’s backlog suggests customers are still locking in substantial computing capacity despite growing scrutiny of data-centre spending.

4. Super Micro’s margin rebound strengthens the hardware case

Super Micro Computer rose around 8%-9% after forecasting fiscal 2027 revenue of $65 billion to $72 billion.

Fourth-quarter sales reached $11.1 billion, almost double the year-earlier figure, while gross margin recovered to 17.5% from 9.9% in the previous quarter. Adjusted earnings reached $1.70 a share.

The margin improvement is important because AI-server makers have faced questions over whether rapid sales growth can translate into acceptable profitability.

Super Micro’s latest numbers suggest stronger pricing and operating scale are improving that equation. The enthusiasm spread to Nebius, IREN and Applied Digital, while Nvidia also edged higher.

5. Cava shows the earnings trade is not only about AI

Cava jumped more than 10% before the bell after second-quarter revenue rose 31% and same-store sales increased 9%.

Customer traffic grew 5.3%, helping the restaurant chain beat expectations despite continued caution around discretionary spending.

The result gives Wednesday’s rally a little more breadth beyond technology. Cisco reports after the close, offering another test of enterprise and AI networking demand.