On Tuesday, US stocks are seen opening marginally higher. The release of the August consumer price index (CPI) has made investors cautious as it is likely to lead the way ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting.

At 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT), while the Dow Futures contract was up 215 points or 0.7 per cent, S&P 500 Futures traded 28 points or 0.7 per cent higher. Nasdaq 100 Futures jumped 75 points or 0.6 per cent.

The major equity averages closed higher on Monday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining over 200 points or 0.7 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 closed up 1.1 per cent, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite jumped 1.3 per cent.

Market confidence appears to have been strengthened by the optimism that inflation has already peaked. Inflation is expected to have slowed, with energy and commodities prices falling acutely in the last month. The headline August CPI annual number is expected to be 8.1 per cent, down from 8.5 per cent in July.

Signs of declining inflation could cause the Federal Reserve to pause interest rate hikes sooner than widely expected. Oil prices jumped Tuesday before the US inflation data release, which is likely to impact OPEC’s monthly outlook report.