European Stock Futures Slip Lower; U.S. CPI in Spotlight

European stock markets are expected to open marginally lower Wednesday ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data which could provide clues to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s future monetary tightening plans. At 02:00 AM ET (0600 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.3% lower, CAC 40 futures in France dropped 0.1%, and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. fell 0.1%. Global stock indices have been on tenterhooks this week ahead of the latest U.S. consumer inflation report, looking for signs that prices are close to peaking, providing the Federal Reserve with a reason to relent in its aggressive campaign to tame the highest inflation in decades.