S&P 500, Nasdaq futures fall on inflation concerns

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell on Thursday over concerns about sticky inflation, while investors awaited comments from key Federal Reserve officials later in the day to gauge the US interest rate path, reports Reuters.
Wall Street's three major stock indexes closed lower on Wednesday with the Nasdaq's 1 per cent loss leading declines after stronger-than-expected services sector data fueled concerns that persistent inflation could lead to interest rates staying higher for longer.
Apple dropped 2.8 per cent in premarket trading on a report that China was seeking to broaden iPhone ban to state firms and agencies, a day after losses in its shares weighed down all three major indexes.
Other major growth stocks Tesla and Nvidia lost 1.6 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.
Further denting sentiment, data showed China's exports and imports fell in August, with sagging overseas demand and weak consumer spending hitting businesses in the world's second-largest economy.
Shares of US-listed Chinese firms including PDD Holdings, JD.com , Baidu and Alibaba fell between 2 per cent and 2.9 per cent.
"The twin worries of China's slowdown and the prospect of higher interest rates in the US are proving hard to shift, spreading fresh unease among investors," Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown said in a note.
"Lacklustre trading is set to be the order of the day given there is so little to pin more optimistic hopes on right now."
Investors await comments from at least six Fed speakers, including policy voting members Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Vice Chair and New York Fed President John Williams, due to speak later in the day.
Traders' bets on the Fed leaving interest rates unchanged in September stood at 93 per cent, while their odds for a pause in the November meeting were at 51.8 per cent, down from nearly 59 per cent a week ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
Investors also await initial jobless claims numbers for the week ended Sept. 2, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, as they parse through economic data for any indications of slowing inflation.
At 7:05 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 9 points, or 0.03 per cent, S&P 500 e-minis were down 13 points, or 0.29 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 94.75 points, or 0.62 per cent.