U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a solidly higher open on Thursday, suggesting equities could recover some lost ground after heavy selling pressure in the previous session.

Futures strengthened following the release of fresh consumer inflation data from the U.S. Labor Department, which showed price pressures easing more than economists had anticipated.

According to the report, the annual rate of consumer price inflation slowed to 2.7% in November, down from 3.0% in September. Economists had been expecting inflation to edge higher to 3.1%. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy costs, also eased, slowing to 2.6% from 3.0%, defying expectations that it would remain unchanged.

The Labor Department noted that survey data for October 2025 was not collected due to the federal government shutdown.

The softer inflation readings are likely to reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve could continue cutting interest rates into the new year, boosting risk appetite.

Wall Street had a difficult session on Wednesday. After ending Tuesday’s volatile trading marginally mixed, stocks initially pushed higher early Wednesday before selling pressure quickly resurfaced. The major indexes retreated sharply from their intraday highs and spent the rest of the session in negative territory, finishing near the day’s lows.

The Nasdaq Composite led the declines, falling 418.14 points, or 1.8%, to close at 22,693.32. The S&P500 dropped 78.83 points, or 1.2%, to 6,721.43, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 228.29 points, or 0.5%, to 47,885.97.

Technology shares were at the center of the selloff. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), a key player in artificial intelligence infrastructure, sank 5.4% to a six-month closing low. The stock came under pressure after the Financial Times reported that its largest data center partner, Blue Owl Capital, would not support a $10 billion project for a new facility in Michigan, although Oracle later said the project remains on track.

Other major technology names, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), also posted notable losses. Semiconductor stocks were among the worst performers, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging 3.8%.

Weakness extended beyond chips, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index falling 3.1%. Networking stocks also declined sharply, while airline, brokerage and housing shares showed notable weakness outside the technology sector.

Energy stocks, however, bucked the broader market trend, benefiting from a rebound in crude oil prices from their lowest levels since early 2021. Oil prices jumped after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers connected to Venezuela.

In a Truth Social post, Trump labeled the government of President Nicolas Maduro a foreign terrorist organization and said he was ordering a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” entering and leaving Venezuela.

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