Market: US stocks to open higher after inflation data

US stocks are set to open higher today as investors are convinced that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates at a faster pace after the release of the stronger-than-expected US inflation data.

The S&P futures rose 0.48% to 2,710, Dow futures gained 0.93% to 25,095 and Nasdaq increased 0.58% to 6,725.75. Elsewhere, shares at Asian markets closed sharply higher on Thursday, while European stocks are scoring higher.

On February 14, after recovering from the initial drop, US ended the session sharply higher, with Dow up 1% to 24,893.49, Nasdaq up 1.9% to 7,143.62 and the S&P 500 gaining 1.3% to 2,698.63.

As expected by the investors, the consumer price index advanced 0.5% in January, exceeding the market consensus of 0.3% growth. Core consumer prices rose 0.3%, better than 0.2% growth expected by the economists. Compared to last year, inflation was 2.1% and core inflation was 1.8%.

Market analysts are expecting more volatility this year due to the rising consumer prices, despite the robust fundamentals as pointed by the investors.

Meanwhile, other key economic data that will be released today include jobless claims, producer price index data, the Empire State manufacturing survey and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. Also, the industrial production, the NAHB Housing Market Index and the Treasury International Capital data are scheduled for release today.

On the corporate front, Cisco Systems stock jumped more than 7% premarket after better-than-expected second quarter results driven by Broadsoft acquisition. TripAdvisor shares climbed more than 20% in the premarket despite a fall in fourth quarter earnings.

On the earnings front, Encana, Bombardier, TransCanada, Avon Products, CyberArk Software, CBS, Shake Shack and TrueCar are the key companies that are expected to release their earnings today.

Crude oil future is down 0.10% to $60.54. Gold is trading down 0.34% to $1,353.40 and silver is down 0.433% to $16.805. On the currency front, the US dollar is trading down 0.18% at 106.758 yen. Against the euro, the dollar is up 0.18% to $1.2476. Against the pound, the dollar is up 0.44% to $1.4064.