U.S. Equity Futures Turn Mixed Before April PPI as Trump-Xi Summit Hopes Cool

2 articles · Updated · TheStreet · May 13

U.S. equity futures pointed to a mixed open Wednesday, with traders waiting for the 8:30 a.m. ET April PPI report after Tuesday’s hotter-than-expected CPI print.
April PPI is expected to rise 4.9% year over year, up from 4.0% in March, with core PPI seen at 4.3%, reinforcing concerns that inflation will keep outrunning wage growth.
Trump headed to Beijing saying he would press Xi Jinping to “open up” to U.S. business, but expectations for a breakthrough were tempered by the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz’s importance to China’s energy imports.
Nebius added to the AI-growth backdrop after reporting a 684% jump in first-quarter sales and guiding for $7 billion to $9 billion in 2026 revenue, setting up fresh scrutiny of Cisco’s results later Wednesday.
Chinese suppliers to Walmart and Costco are already lifting prices by as much as 5% for big-box retailers and up to 15% for smaller merchants, signaling more pressure on holiday-season consumer spending.

Can AI's productivity boom truly outweigh the severe stagflation risks from the Iran conflict?

As global supply chains fracture, can Trump’s summit with Xi prevent a deeper economic crisis?

With traditional tools failing, what unconventional options does the Federal Reserve have to fight inflation?