US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead of Coca-Cola Earnings, Consumer Inflation, Fed Chair Powells Speech

U.S. stock index futures are edging higher during the pre-market session early Wednesday, following a mixed performance on Wall Street the previous session. After the close on Tuesday, the markets were boosted by better-than-expected earnings from Twitter, Lyft, Cisco Systems, Mattel and Yelp. Lyft reported signs of a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early Futures Action

At 05:23 GMT, March E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are trading 0.36% higher, March E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 0.26% and March E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index futures are better by 0.43%.

Tuesdays after the Bell Earnings Reports

Twitter Inc on Tuesday beat Wall Street targets for quarterly sales and profit and followed its social media peers to forecast a strong start to 2021 as ad spending rebounds from a rock bottom.

Lyft Inc said on Tuesday it could make an adjusted profit by the third quarter of this year despite the pandemic thanks to additional cost cuts and an expected rebound in ride-hail demand beginning in the second quarter of 2021.

Cisco Systems Inc on Tuesday reported a decline in revenue for a fifth straight quarter, as enterprise clients spent less on its network infrastructure products for offices due to the rise of remote working.

Mattel Inc beat quarterly sales estimates on Tuesday as parents splurged on Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars for their children during a holiday season that was dulled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yelp Inc reported fourth-quarter earnings of $21.1 million. On a per-share basis, the San Francisco-based company said it had net income of 27 cents. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 1 cent per share.

What Investors Will Be Watching on Wednesday

Investors will continue to monitor progress on a COVID-19 stimulus package after House Democrats earlier in the week unveiled the details of a relief proposal that included $1,400 direct checks with faster phase-outs than previous bills.

The Consumer Price Index report is scheduled to be released at 13:30 GMT. Economists expect a consensus 0.3% increase in the index, a measure of inflation, or a year-over-year gain of 1.5%, according to Dow Jones. Excluding food and energy, or Core CPI, is projected to rise by 0.1%.

Investors will also be keeping close tabs on a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell at 1900 GMT.

Earnings season continues on Wednesday with Coca-Cola, General Motors and Under Armour set to report before the opening bell.

Uber Technologies and MGM Resorts report earnings after the bell on Wednesday.