Futures flat as traders brace for inflation data and Nvidia

Market Report US Markets Written by: Ian Lyall 07:56 Wed 26 Aug 2026 --> Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Futures flat as traders brace for inflation data and Nvidia Published: 07:56 26 Aug 2026 EDT Ahead of the bell US stock futures went nowhere on Wednesday morning, which tells you plenty about how much is riding on the next 12 hours. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 sat close to flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.2% after Tuesday's broad gains. First comes the inflation test at 8.30 am ET. Economists expect core personal consumption expenditures (PCE), the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of price growth, to hold at 3.3%. Anything hotter would land awkwardly, with the bond market already jumpy and Fed chairman Kevin Warsh due to speak at this week's Jackson Hole gathering of policymakers. Then comes Nvidia after the closing bell, now the quarterly health check for the entire artificial intelligence trade. Expectations are high, and investors increasingly want evidence that the vast sums being spent on AI infrastructure are earning a return. One thing to watch beyond the graphics chips: Nvidia's networking arm generated nearly $15 billion last quarter, against roughly $3 billion a quarter two years ago, and analysts expect close to $17 billion this time. Networking grew nearly 200% year on year last quarter, against 77% for compute. CrowdStrike, Williams-Sonoma, Okta and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) also report on Wednesday. Flat futures, then, but hardly a quiet day. One flag from the source copy: it says a stalled or reaccelerating PCE would pressure the Fed "to raise rates". I've left that framing out, as it reads as an overstatement of where the debate sits. Say if you want it back in. Continue reading