(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted on Wednesday, as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of a crucial inflation reading which could influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate path this year.
The January consumer price index (CPI) data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with headline inflation estimated to rise 0.3% month-on-month, and remain steady at 2.9% on an annual basis, as per economists polled by Reuters.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile components like food and energy, is expected to rise 0.3% on a monthly basis, and ease to 3.1% year-on-year.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell also begins his second day of testimony before Congress shortly after the CPI data is released.
On Tuesday, Powell had reiterated that the U.S. central bank is in no rush to cut its short-term interest rate again, while refraining from commenting on the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.
"The combination of fresh tariffs, Powell's testimony, and key inflation data creates a perfect storm for market volatility," Lukman Otunuga, senior analyst at FXTM, said in an e-mailed statement.
"If tariffs fuel inflation fears, the Fed may be forced into a more hawkish stance, adding further uncertainty."
Traders expect at least one 25-basis-point interest-rate cut from the Fed this year and a 40% chance of another reduction of the same magnitude - down from about a 60% chance on Tuesday - according to LSEG data.
January's reading would be the last inflation reading before any direct impact from Trump's tariff measures, which went into effect this month.
Trump had slapped an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods last week and levied tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday.
His trade advisers are also finalizing plans for the reciprocal tariffs on every country that charges duties on U.S. imports.
At 4:52 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 74 points, or 0.17%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 10 points, or 0.16%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 14.5 points, or 0.07%.
Wall Street's main indexes ended mixed in the last session, with the S&P 500 ending almost flat, while the Nasdaq dipped nearly 0.4%.
Tesla was set to log its sixth straight day of declines, down 1.6% in premarket trading.
Health insurer CVS Health, drugmaker Biogen and Jell-O maker Kraft Heinz are some of the prominent companies reporting earnings before the bell.
Among early movers, Lyft dropped 12.4% after the ride-hailing company forecast current-quarter gross bookings below estimates. Bigger rival Uber also fell 1.4%.
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Super Micro Computer advanced 5.5% after the server maker said it believes it will be able to file delayed annual and quarterly reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by February 25.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
