US STOCKS-Wall St futures weighed down by inflation worries; bank earnings in focus

By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma

July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures came under pressure on Wednesday as investors evaluated signs of inflation from U.S. tariff policies while also monitoring a new round of major corporate earnings.

U.S. semiconductor equipment makers were down after ASML warned it may not achieve growth in 2026 because of U.S. tariff uncertainty.

Applied Materials AMAT.O and Lam Research LRCX.O fell 2.8% each in premarket trading. KLA Corp KLAC.O was down 2.7%, while Teradyne TER.O lost 0.9%.

Bank of America BAC.N gained 1.4% after its profit rose in the second quarter as its traders brought in more revenue from tumultuous markets in the second quarter.

On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase JPM.N and Citigroup C.N posted better-than-expected results but remained cautious about U.S. tariff policies.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rose 1% after the drugmaker on Wednesday reported second-quarter profit above estimates and raised its full-year sales forecast by around $2 billion.

At 6:57 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 24 points, or 0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 1.5 points, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 36.75 points, or 0.16%.

The cautious mood in the markets followed Tuesday's inflation report, which pointed to rising prices fueled by President Donald Trump's tariffs and dimmed hopes for deeper rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

"Yet even now, the problem is that inflation risks are still being underestimated, with a remarkable complacency across key assets," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.

Money markets pricing show traders are betting on just 43 basis points of Fed easing by year-end, with a July rate cut off the table and the odds of a September move now a coin-flip.

Investors will keep a close watch on producer prices data scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, searching for signs of rising costs at the factory gate.

Trade tensions also remained in focus after Trump announced a 19% tariff on Indonesian goods as part of a new deal, one of several rushed agreements ahead of an August 1 deadline for broader tariff hikes. Meanwhile, the European Union was preparing retaliatory measures should talks with Washington falter.

Still, investors have shown resilience in recent weeks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record high on Tuesday, powered by a jump in Nvidia's NVDA.O shares after the chip designer announced plans to resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China.

The stock, however, eased 0.4% in premarket trading.

Global Payments GPN.N rose 6.1% after the Financial Times reported that activist hedge fund Elliott Management built a significant stake in the payments technology firm.