By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shristi Achar A
(Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were poised to open nearly flat on Thursday, a day after hitting all-time highs as tepid consumer inflation data bolstered hopes of interest-rate cuts.
All three major indexes notched record closes in the previous session after a smaller-than-expected rise in consumer inflation fueled optimism that inflation was easing after three months of higher-than-expected numbers.
The market is back to betting on two quarter-point interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, with traders seeing a 72.6% chance of the first one in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
The Dow is on track to cross the 40,000-mark for the first time, marking the blue-chip index's fastest 10,000-point climb, powered by strong quarterly results and rising bets of rate cuts.
"At these levels, the market needs to take a breather and needs to rest," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.
"So it's very possible that maybe not today, but we are approaching a level of consolidation, somewhat of a small pullback and a sideways movement."
Markets will now focus on several Fed officials expected to speak through the day, including Thomas Barkin, Loretta Mester, Raphael Bostic, Patrick Harker and Michael Barr.
New claims for state unemployment benefits fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended May 11, a Labor Department report showed, pointing to underlying strength in the labor market.
Among earnings updates, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) advanced 6.2% in premarket trading after the retail giant raised its fiscal 2025 sales and profit forecast, betting on easing inflation to further boost demand for essentials.
Deere (NYSE:DE) fell 5.5% after the farm equipment maker trimmed its annual profit forecast for the second time.
Network equipment maker Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose 2.1% after forecasting fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations.
At 08:33 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 19 points, or 0.05%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 4 points, or 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 18.5 points, or 0.1%.
Most megacap growth and technology stocks climbed, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) leading gains.
U.S.-listed shares of Chubb (NYSE:CB) jumped 7.6% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) revealed a stake worth $6.7 billion in the insurer.
Popular meme stocks GameStop (NYSE:GME) and AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) slid 8% and 5%, respectively.
They were set to extend Wednesday's losses that followed a two-day rally sparked by the return of "Roaring Kitty" Keith Gill, the central figure in the 2021 meme stock frenzy.