By Sruthi Shankar and Amruta Khandekar
(Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were set to extend Tuesday's big rally after cooling producer prices supported views that the Federal Reserve has finished raising interest rates, while Target (NYSE:TGT) shares surged following an upbeat holiday-quarter forecast.
Target advanced 14.2% before the bell as the big-ticket retailer forecast fourth-quarter profit largely above Wall Street expectations on easing supply-chain costs.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted their biggest daily percentage gain in more than six months on Tuesday as softer-than-expected consumer prices data raised hopes that U.S. interest rates have peaked.
Data on Wednesday showed producer prices eased more than estimated and U.S. retail sales fell in October, though by less than expected.
Retail sales slipped 0.1% last month, numbers showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.3% fall.
"Given the strong consumer – which isn't surprising given the employment picture – it is only reasonable to assume that corporate profits will continue to grow and this should only add fuel to the fire for the year-end rally," noted Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.
"Inflation for now is coming back down and the economy for now continues to grow at a robust pace, so the only logical direction for stocks is higher."
Money market traders have fully priced in the odds that the U.S. central bank will keep rates steady in December, as per CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) Fedwatch tool. They also see the first rate cut of the cycle to kick off in May 2024.
Focus will also be on meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in a year on Wednesday, for talks that may ease friction between the adversarial superpowers on military conflicts, drug-trafficking and artificial intelligence.
At 8:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 84 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15.75 points, or 0.35%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 83.5 points, or 0.53%.
Further aiding the mood, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a temporary spending bill that would avert a government shutdown, with broad support from lawmakers in both parties.
To prevent a shutdown, the Senate and Republican-controlled House must enact a legislation that Biden can sign into a law before current funding for federal agencies expires at midnight on Friday.
Among other stocks, TJX (NYSE:TJX) shares fell 2.4% as the off-price apparel chain cut its fourth-quarter profit forecast.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese ecommerce firm JD.com climbed 7.5% after the company posted a surge in profit as supply chain challenges eased.
Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) surged 13.3% as Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) took a stake in the audio entertainment company.