Premarket: Global stocks rise as upcoming U.S. inflation data eclipses geopolitics, Fed worries

U.S. stock index futures dipped on Tuesday, as investors awaited crucial ‍inflation data ​for clues on the interest rate trajectory, and fourth-quarter results from JPMorgan Chase that would mark the start of the earnings season.

Shares of the largest U.S. lender ticked 0.6 per cent higher in premarket trading ahead of its results, with rivals expected to report later this week. Major lenders are likely to deliver bigger quarterly ⁠profits, bolstered by a revival in M&A.

Custodian bank BNY and Delta Air Lines were also set to post results before the opening bell.

“Solid U.S. economic growth and Federal Reserve rate cuts have boosted corporate earnings and profit margins, lifting U.S. stocks and underpinning our overweight. We think this will keep playing out ‌in Q4 earnings results ‍starting this week,” strategists at BlackRock Investment Institute said in a note.

Attention will also ‍remain on inflation figures, which are expected to show U.S. ‌consumer prices accelerated in December, making the case for the Federal Reserve ⁠to hold its interest rates steady at its policy meeting later this month.

Wall Street’s main indexes began the ​week on a soft note on Monday after U.S. prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell that raised concerns over the central bank’s independence and drew criticism from key Republicans.

The market bounced back during the session, as gains in tech giants and Walmart sent the S&P 500 and the ​Dow to fresh record closes.

At 5:09 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 10 points, or 0.14 per cent, Dow E-minis were down 66 points, or 0.13 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 61.25 points, or 0.24 per cent.

Investors have largely shrugged off geopolitical concerns, including U.S. military action and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro 10 days ago, as the focus on artificial intelligence and expectations of strong earnings propelled ⁠the indexes to new highs.

Lofty valuations have driven investors toward small-cap stocks, which have outperformed broader markets ⁠since the start of the year, though it remains to be seen if the trend will last.

BlackRock Investment Institute strategists ‌expect the earnings gap between the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants and the rest of the market to keep narrowing, a rise in economically sensitive sectors, while productivity gains from AI could help offset company earnings downgrades.

The Russell 2000 has gained 6.2 per cent in the first seven trading days of 2026, compared with a 1.9 per cent rise in the S&P 500.

Intel ‌shares rose 3.6 per cent and AMD gained 1.5 per cent after KeyBanc upgraded both the chipmakers’ shares to “overweight.”

World shares were mixed and U.S. futures edged lower Tuesday ahead of an update on U.S. consumer prices.

In early European trading, the FTSE 100 in London edged up less than 1 per cent to 10,144.50. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 per cent to 25,356.32, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.5 per cent to 8,316.63.

Asian shares mostly gained led by a rally in Japan. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 surged 3.1 per cent to 53,549.16 at close, a record. Technology-related stocks helped lift the benchmark. Compute chip testing equipment maker Advantest surged 8.5 per cent. Chip maker Tokyo Electron jumped 8.2 per cent and SoftBank Group rose 4.3 per cent.

The dollar rose to 158.92 yen, up from 158.07 yen. The dollar has been trading near its highest level against in the yen in more than a year on what market watchers call the “Takaichi trade” for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October.

Takaichi is expected to try to capitalize on her relatively high public ratings to call a snap election, hoping to strengthen her mandate for higher government spending. That has led to a weakening in the yen.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.9 per cent to 26,848.47. Shares of China-based chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor jumped as much as 54 per cent in the company’s Hong Kong trading debut. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6 per cent to 4,138.76.

South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.5 per cent higher at 4,692.64 at close, also a record.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.6 per cent to 8,808.50. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.5 per cent, while the Sensex in India lost almost 0.3 per cent.

In other dealings early Tuesday, the price of gold dipped 0.5 per cent and the price of silver picked up 0.4 per cent.

The euro edged up $1.1669 from $1.1667.

Reuters and The Associated Press