Dow Jones futures fall amid Fed rate hike fears, Nvidia leadership shakeup, PPI data eyed

• US index futures decline as hot CPI data drives 87% odds of a December Fed hike ahead of PPI data release.
• Wall Street closed lower Thursday; Dow Jones dropped 0.36%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also declined.
• Nvidia edges higher after-hours as CFO Colette Kress becomes interim CEO following Jensen Huang’s resignation.

Dow Jones futures decline 0.15% to trade around 52,310 during the European hours on Friday. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures decline 0.16% to trade near 7,600, and Nasdaq 100 futures fall 0.30% to trade around 28,300.

US stock futures declined amid persistent inflation concerns and growing expectations for tighter Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy. Stronger-than-expected US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released earlier this week reinforced forecasts for a rate hike in December, particularly after Fed Governor Christopher Waller noted that a 50-basis-point increase should be considered if core inflation remains elevated. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are now pricing in nearly 87% odds of a 25-basis-point hike at the central bank's December 8–9 meeting, alongside a 13.13% probability of a half-point increase.

Investors are now turning their attention to Friday’s US Producer Price Index (PPI) report for further clarity on the Fed's rate path, with October headline PPI expected to rise 6.6% year-on-year, and core PPI projected to increase 5.0%. This comes after Wall Street’s major indexes closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow falling 0.36%, the S&P 500 dropping 0.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.39%.

Market sentiment also remains cautious due to leadership turmoil at Nvidia after CEO Jensen Huang stepped down following reports of extramarital affairs. However, Nvidia shares rebounded nearly 1% in after-hours trading, recovering some of Thursday’s losses as investors assessed the leadership transition, with CFO Colette Kress stepping in as interim CEO.