US stock futures inch higher, preparing for PCE inflation data release

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures inch higher on Friday, suggesting a muted recovery in the wake of declines in U.S. equities in the prior session.

U.S. stock futures edged higher on Friday, suggesting a muted recovery in the wake of declines in U.S. equities in the prior session.

Markets are preparing for the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge and eyeing the outlook for U.S. tariffs. Elsewhere, Dell (NYSE:DELL) forecasts a decline in annual gross profit margin and Bitcoin slides to below $80,000.

1. Futures tick higher

U.S. stock futures were pointing higher before the final trading day of the week, following a sell-off on Wall Street on Thursday.

By 03:32 ET (08:32 GMT), the Dow futures contract had risen by 62 points or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures had added 12 points or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had advanced by 40 points or 0.2%.

The main averages sank in the previous session, with the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 194 points or 0.5%, the benchmark S&P 500 sliding by 94 points or 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbling by 531 points or 2.8%.

Dragging down the S&P 500 and Nasdaq was Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which sank by 8.5%, wiping out $274 billion from its market value.

A good-but-not-great quarterly report from the chipmaker failed to reignite an artificial intelligence rally on Wall Street that was dented earlier this year by the emergence of a low-cost AI model from China’s DeepSeek. Meanwhile, economic data pointed to a potentially sputtering U.S. economy.

Sentiment was also buffetted by fresh tariff remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that previously delayed levies on Mexico and Canada would come into effect on March 4, along with an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods. Trump argued that these countries were not doing enough to curb the flow into the U.S. of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl.

He also floated the idea of a 25% reciprocal tariff on European cars and other goods, exacerbating worries over a possible trade conflict between the U.S. and the European Union.

2. PCE ahead

Investors are now gearing up for the release of the monthly Personal Consumption Expenditures data on Friday, an inflation metric closely monitored by Federal Reserve policymakers.

The PCE index is tipped to slow to 2.5% in the twelve months to January, down from 2.6% in the previous month. Month-on-month, the measure is seen matching December’s rate of 0.4%.

Stripping out food and energy, so-called core PCE inflation is expected to come in at 2.6% year-on-year, easing from 2.8% in December. On a monthly basis, it is projected to accelerate slightly to 0.3% from 0.2%.

Core PCE rose by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to upwardly-revised data on Thursday. The measure had been previously reported to have risen at a pace of 2.5%.

The Fed pushed pause on a cycle of interest rate reductions at its last meeting in January, partly citing concerns around the possible impact of Trump’s tariff plans on inflation. The central bank had slashed borrowing costs by 100 basis points to a range of 4.25% to 4.5% in a series of gatherings late last year.

3. Dell’s margin forecast

Shares in Dell edged lower in premarket U.S. trading after the Texas-based group predicted that it would post a drop in adjusted gross margin in its 2026 fiscal year.

Weighed down by increasing costs associated with building out its AI servers, as well as tepid demand for its PCs, Dell said its full-year adjusted gross margin rate would fall by around 100 basis points.

Speaking to analysts, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke also flagged that Dell is gauging the possible effect of Trump’s tariffs on input costs. Clarke noted that should these expenses rise, "it may require us to adjust prices."

Still, Dell forecast a 53% year-over-year jump in annual AI server shipments to $15 billion. The products, which feature Nvidia chips and compete with servers from rival Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI), can handle the massive amounts of computational demand needed to power and train AI models.

4. U.S., Ukraine to sign minerals deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to meet with Trump in Washington, D.C. on Friday to sign a deal to share some of the country’s all-important mineral