US Futures Hold Steady Ahead of Inflation Report

US stock futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited September’s consumer inflation report for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision. In corporate news, Bank of America shares dropped more than 2% in after-hours trading after federal regulators imposed over $1.2 billion in penalties, alleging that the bank had failed for years to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. During Tuesday’s regular session, the Dow Jones fell 0.35%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.15%. Memory stocks extended losses amid mounting concerns over AI-related investments and intensifying competition from China, with Micron falling 4.6%, SanDisk dropping 1.7%, Lam Research losing 3.2%, and Applied Materials tumbling 7.2%. Financial stocks also mostly ended lower following quarterly earnings releases, including Citigroup (-5.3%), Wells Fargo (-2.6%), Goldman Sachs (-0.1%), and JPMorgan (-0.3%).