Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Futures Edge Higher, CPI

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Stock index futures (SPX) tick up as investors brace for retail inflation report. (00:26) Gun stocks rise in wake of Charlie Kirk shooting. (01:42) Jack Ma’s Ant Group (BABA) unveils first humanoid robot with medical and culinary skills. (02:55)

This is an abridged transcript.

Stock index futures are higher as investors look forward to the key retail inflation report.

S&P 500 futures (SPX) +0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures (US100:IND) +0.2%, and Dow futures (INDU) +0.1%.

The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) was unchanged at 4.06%. The 2-year yield (US2Y) was flat at 3.56%.

The main economic report for the day is the August CPI data. The average economist sees the Consumer Price Index advancing to +0.3% M/M in August from +0.2% in the prior month. On a Y/Y basis, the gauge is anticipated to be +2.9%—nearly a full percentage point above the Federal Reserve’s goal—compared with +2.7% in July.

Stripping out volatile food and energy costs, core CPI growth is forecast to hold steady at +3.1% Y/Y, its highest level since February, and +0.3% M/M in August.

Gun stocks were pulled higher late Wednesday afternoon and are higher in premarket action in the wake of the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at an event in Utah.

Kirk was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA. He was speaking at Utah Valley University when someone fired a shot, hitting him in the neck. Kirk was rushed to a hospital, where he died.

An initial suspect was apprehended at the site and later released. The shooter is still on the loose.

Firearms-related stocks surged as investors anticipated that the shooting would fuel demand for stricter gun control laws, historically a catalyst for increased demand.

Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWBI) is up 4.9% premarket after closing 6.7% higher on Wednesday. American Outdoor Brands (NASDAQ:AOUT) closed 5.3% higher and is up slightly premarket. Sturm, Ruger (NYSE:RGR) closed Wednesday with a 3% gain and was 7.4% higher postmarket on Wednesday. And Outdoor Holding Company (NASDAQ:POWW) closed Wednesday’s regular session with a 4.9% gain and is up 3.3% in premarket action.

Ant Group has unveiled its first humanoid robot.

The Alibaba-linked (NYSE:BABA) fintech giant demonstrated its R1 humanoid model at the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai.

Ant’s large model enables its R1 robot to deal with end-to-end planning of complex assignments.

The robot can serve as a tour guide, sort medicine at pharmacies, provide medical consultation, or perform basic chores in the kitchen.

What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha:

Carrier warns of 40% residential HVAC drop, highlights data center growth

Texas Instruments’ CEO sees ‘strong growth’ of about 50% in data center market

Opendoor names new CEO, co-founders rejoin board

Catalyst watch:

Corporate events include Freshworks’ (FRSH) Investor Day, Arista Networks’ (ANET) Analyst Day, and Box’s (BOX) annual content and AI conference.

Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is down 0.4% at $63/barrel. Bitcoin is flat at $113,000. Gold is down 0.6% at $3,619.

The FTSE 100 is up 0.4% and the DAX is flat.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Opendoor Technologies (NASDAQ:OPEN) +40% – Shares surged after the company appointed former Shopify COO Kaz Nejatian as CEO and board member. Co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu are returning to the board, with Rabois named chairman. In addition, Khosla Ventures and Wu will invest $40M in Opendoor through a private placement to support business investment and growth.

On today’s economic calendar: