Stock Market Today: Traders Stay Put Ahead of Key Inflation Data Release

• Stock futures were not very volatile on Tuesday as investors awaited Wednesday's important inflation report.

• If price growth accelerates, the Fed may refuse to cut rates.

• The Fed may be wary of an overheated economy after last week's hot employment report.

Investors stayed put ahead of Tuesday's opening bell, waiting for Wednesday's inflation report, which could determine when the Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates and loosening its grip on the economy.

Dow Jones Industrial AverageFutures were down 0.11 TP3T, while the S&P 500respond in singing Nasdaq Resonance 100 IndexFutures are almost flat. US Dollar Index US dollar indexIt rose to over 104 points, while the benchmark 10-Year Treasury YieldIt fell to just below 4.41 TP3T.

"Last week's stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data and the continued strength of oil prices have raised expectations that the Fed will postpone a rate cut until later this year," Russ Mould, director of investing analytics at AJ Bell, said in a morning report.

"Wednesday's release of US CPI inflation data is also likely to reinforce the argument that a rate cut is not imminent," Mould continued, noting that the market consensus forecast is for US CPI inflation to rise to 3.4%. "A slow climb in inflation runs counter to the rationale that the Fed would like to see for a rate cut. The slow climb in inflation runs counter to the reasons the Fed would like to see for a rate cut.

Surprisingly strong employment data in March sparked fears on Wall Street that inflationary woes may not be over.

The pace of price inflation has fallen sharply from a 40-year high above 9% in the summer of 2022 to below 4% in recent months, but remains well above the Fed's target rate of 2%.

The central bank raised interest rates from near zero to north of 5% in less than 18 months to rein in price growth and is unlikely to start cutting rates if inflation accelerates again.

Corporate Calendar Corporate CalendarThis includes the annual meetings of BNY Mellon and Bank of Nova Scotia. On the data side, Wall Street will be watching for updates to the NFIB Optimism Index, which tracks small business sentiment.

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