Contracts for the S&P 500 Index rose 0.5% after the underlying gauge erased its gains to close 0.2% lower in the final hours of Wednesday trading.
Last Updated: Oct 01, 2026, 06:33:00 AM IST
US equity-index futures rose in early Asian trading, steadying sentiment at the start of a new quarter after late swings on Wall Street erased gains sparked by softer-than-expected inflation data.
Contracts for the S&P 500 Index rose 0.5% after the underlying gauge erased its gains to close 0.2% lower in the final hours of Wednesday trading. Asian shares edged lower after Micron Technology Inc. gave an upbeat forecast, but warned that rising compensation costs would weigh on profit margins. Alphabet Inc.’s shares rose after Google began rolling out the Gemini 4 Argon, its long-awaited flagship artificial intelligence model.
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Bond yields remained in focus after global government bonds finished their worst quarter since 2024 as oil above $100 revived the threat of sticky inflation for the world economy. US 30-year Treasury yields rose again, refreshing their highest levels since 2002. Money markets put the chance of an October interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve at less than 40%.
Bonds in Australia and New Zealand tracked Treasuries lower. US oil was a touch weaker at $90.10 a barrel in early Asian trading, holding its gains from the previous session. Meantime, the dollar wrapped up its best month since March, while the yen weakened after the Bank of Japan released its summary of opinions.
Wall Street’s late swings underscored uncertainty over the outlook for equities despite easing inflation concerns and reduced expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike. Attention now turns to jobs data this week, while traders start paying increased attention to the US midterm elections in November to assess whether stocks can regain ground.
“We believe a strong earnings season and getting past the midterm elections are what will break the market out of its trading range and see new highs by year-end,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
The key event on Wednesday was the inflation data. The US personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rose a less-than-expected 0.2%. The prior month was also revised lower. Consumer spending, meanwhile, increased at the fastest pace in more than a year, offering signs of cooling price pressures alongside resilient demand.
Chris Osmond, chief investment officer for Fifth Third Wealth Advisors, said Wednesday’s data delivered a “goldilocks combination.”
“Second-quarter growth was stronger than expected, consumer spending was more robust, the labor market rebounded sharply in September and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge came in well below expectations,” Osmond said. “The net effect is broadly supportive of risk assets and materially reduces the probability of an October rate hike, while keeping a fourth-quarter hike on the table.”
That helped a rally in US stocks for much of Wednesday after the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge accelerated less than forecast, reinforcing expectations that policymakers may leave rates unchanged this month. Short-dated Treasury yields were little changed, while 30-year yields gained six basis points on Wednesday.
The yield on the 10-year climbed as much as seven basis points to 5.30% during the New York session.
Global government bonds finished their worst quarter since 2024 as $100 oil revived the threat of sticky inflation for the world economy. A Bloomberg index of the debt posted its worst quarterly loss since the three-month stretch at the end of 2024, when Donald Trump won a second term as US president and investors braced for a more expansionary fiscal policy.
“Bond markets are facing a triple whammy — big government spending, strong growth and geopolitical supply shocks,” said Jimmy Louca, senior portfolio manager at Australian Retirement Trust. “We’ve moved into a reflationary regime and the market has been slow to price it.”
