Stock futures little changed as inflation report looms

Stock futures were little changed on Thursday as investors awaited a key US consumer inflation report.

Data showed the three major US averages were headed for a losing week after Treasury yields rose and oil prices climbed, leaving broader markets under pressure.

Treasury yields and oil

Shares slipped after yields on benchmark Treasuries moved higher and the price of crude rose; the moves followed trading in fixed income and commodity markets rather than any new corporate news. Traders sequenced the moves as yields rose and oil climbed, rather than attributing them to any single policy announcement.

Equities with higher valuations were the most sensitive to the rise in yields, while energy names gained on the oil advance. Data showed volume remained light, a pattern that can amplify price moves into the close and leave indexes vulnerable to outsized swings on thin liquidity.

Expect volatility over the next 48 hours as markets digest the consumer inflation data and reassess rate expectations. That window will likely determine whether the weekly losses deepen or investors step back in ahead of next week.