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Wall Street's fourth losing day gives way to a CPI test

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Wall Street closed out a fourth consecutive losing session Thursday, and futures were only modestly firmer Friday morning as markets awaited the August CPI report — the last inflation print before the Fed's September 16 decision.

Wall Street's fourth losing day gives way to a CPI test

Wall Street closed a fourth straight losing session on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down 0.6%, the Nasdaq off 1.3% and the Dow slipping 0.4%. Futures were only tentatively higher heading into Friday's session, with the market's attention fixed on the morning's August CPI report — the last inflation data point the Fed will see before next week's rate decision.

What to watch

  • US CPI, due at 8:30am ET Friday: consensus calls for a 0.4% monthly gain and 3.4% year-over-year, covering August prices. It's the final inflation read ahead of the Fed's September 16 FOMC meeting, with market-implied odds of a hike sitting near 70% after Thursday's hotter-than-expected PPI.
  • Dow futures were up 0.28%, S&P 500 futures up 0.17% and Nasdaq 100 futures roughly flat (+0.02%) in premarket trade.

Markets

Thursday's cash session marked the fourth consecutive daily loss for the major US averages, with the Nasdaq's 1.3% decline the steepest of the three. In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed down 0.7% at 14,357, with Germany's DAX the weakest of the major continental indices and France's CAC 40 posting the smallest decline of the group.

Commodities

Brent crude held near its highest close since May 22, trading above $101 a barrel (WTI around $102-103), up more than 12% for the week as the US-Iran conflict in the Gulf continued to escalate. Gold pulled back to $4,372 an ounce, down 0.79%, giving back part of its move after topping $4,400 earlier in the week.

Crypto

Bitcoin traded at $77,226 as of 05:56 UTC, up 0.9% from the day's UTC open and clawing back most of Thursday's PPI-driven dip to a low of $76,464. Ether changed hands at $2,467, up 1.2%, while SOL, BNB, XRP and DOGE were all higher by roughly 1-1.5% in a broad overnight bounce across majors.

On the regulatory side, the SEC advanced its newly proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets" rulemaking, aimed at clarifying when digital assets fall under federal securities law, even as the Clarity Act — the broader crypto market-structure bill dividing SEC/CFTC oversight — remains stalled in Congress.

What it means for crypto trading

Friday's CPI print is the near-term swing factor: a hotter-than-expected number keeps hike odds elevated and would likely extend pressure on both equities and crypto, while a cooler reading could spark a relief bounce across risk assets. Brent's climb toward $103 a barrel on the ongoing US-Iran conflict remains the other live tail risk worth watching alongside the data.

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