Futures up: Dow 0.19%, S&P 500 0.23%, Nasdaq 0.19%
IEA to announce oil reserve recommendation at 1300 GMT
Inflation report expected to show a rise in consumer prices
JPMorgan tightens lending to private credit groups, report says
Oracle shares rise on upbeat 2027 revenue forecast
Updates prices throughout
By Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi
March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors assessed the outlook for crude prices and awaited a key inflation report, while tensions in the Middle East continued to escalate.
Energy prices whipsawed as traders weighed reports that Germany and Japan were looking at releasing oil reserves to stabilize supply ahead of a decision by the International Energy Agency, in the face of intensifying air strikes in the Middle East that are likely to ground shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz for a while.
The International Energy Agency is expected to recommend the release of 400 million barrels of oil reserves at 1300 GMT.
Remarks from President Donald Trump earlier this week offered markets some reassurance that the war might not be drawn out for months. Oil prices, which had neared $120 a barrel earlier in the week, have since dropped to under $90 a barrel.
Later in the day, a report is expected to show consumer prices likely picked up in February as tariffs were passed through to consumers, which could add to worries that rising gasoline costs could further stoke inflation in the coming months. The levies were deemed unconstitutional late last month.
Expectations for a 25‑basis‑point Federal Reserve rate cut have been pushed back to September from July, according to LSEG-compiled data.
Signs of a softening jobs market are likely to further complicate the central bank's monetary policymaking.
"The big concern for the markets is to what extent this supply shock leads to higher inflation, weaker growth, interest rates that are higher than they would otherwise have been, and lower profitability," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.
At 7:16 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 110 points, or 0.23%, and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 15.5 points, or 0.23%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 47.5 points, or 0.19%.
Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index .VIX, was down 0.28 points at 24.65.
Meanwhile, Oracle <ORCL.N> predicted that the AI data center boom will power its revenue above estimates well into 2027, sending its shares up 10% in premarket trading.
Semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia NVDA.O, Broadcom AVGO.O and Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O were marginally higher.
Travel stocks, which are sensitive to energy prices, were mixed on Wednesday. American Airlines AAL.O edged up 0.9%, while cruise liner Carnival CCL.N was up slightly.
Remarks from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman are due later in the day and will be scrutinized for any policy direction.
Investors were also monitoring developments in the private credit space.
JPMorgan Chase <JPM.N> marked down the value of certain loans held by private-credit groups and is tightening its lending to the sector, a report said.
Ares Management ARES.N was down 1.2%, while Apollo Global APO.N was down modestly.
Among others, defense company AeroVironment AVAV.O dropped 10.5% after forecasting 2026 adjusted profit below estimates.
Nike NKE.N gained 2.1% after Barclays upgraded the athletic wear maker to "overweight" from "equal-weight".
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Tushar Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
((johann.mcherian@thomsonreuters.com))
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