U.S. stock futures rose Wednesday, pointing to further gains on Wall Street following soft inflation data that pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to record closing levels. Investors are awaiting Cisco Systems’ (NASDAQ:CSCO) earnings report, while Perplexity AI has launched a $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google’s Chrome browser.

Futures Signal Continuation of Rally

Futures tied to the main U.S. indexes climbed, suggesting Tuesday’s gains could continue. By 03:36 ET, S&P 500 futures were up 33 points (0.5%), Nasdaq 100 futures added 264 points (1.1%), and Dow futures increased 49 points (0.1%).

The prior session saw all three major indices rise over 1%, fueled by July’s consumer price growth matching June’s level. The data strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates next month, prioritizing labor market support over inflation containment.

“Inflation was broadly in line with expectations as tariffs continue to be largely absorbed within U.S. corporate profit margins. This gives the Fed the room to respond to the weaker jobs backdrop,” analysts at ING wrote.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set new closing highs, while yields on short-term Treasuries fell, reflecting the typical inverse relationship between yields and prices.

Cisco’s Earnings in Focus

Cisco Systems is first in a wave of companies reporting earnings for the quarter ending in July. Analysts expect results to exceed estimates, supported by “general strength” in Cisco’s firewalls and cybersecurity subscription business, according to Piper Sandler.

“Cisco is still experiencing net-momentum into the second half, with early networking prints a good signal for the space and 2026 likely a good refresh period,” said James Fish and his team.

Fiscal 2026 guidance will be “key,” particularly after Mark Patterson replaced Scott Herren as CFO. Herren retired in July, leaving after Cisco raised its fiscal 2025 outlook, counting on AI to maintain demand from cloud clients.

Analysts also highlighted that Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK), acquired by Cisco for $28 billion in 2024, will now be included in organic results. The deal marked Cisco’s largest acquisition and a push to integrate AI more fully into operations.

Perplexity AI Targets Chrome

Perplexity AI has made a $34.5 billion all-cash offer to buy Google’s Chrome browser, aiming to leverage data from billions of users to train its AI models.

The bid comes amid ongoing antitrust scrutiny over Google’s search dominance. A U.S. judge ruled last year that Google had illegally monopolized search, paving the way for remedies including a Chrome sale, which could reshape digital advertising.

Perplexity, which previously bid for TikTok US amid U.S. regulatory concerns, has not disclosed how it would fund the offer. The startup was last valued at $14 billion and has raised around $1 billion from investors including SoftBank (USOTC:SFTBY) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).

Ether Approaches All-Time High

Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) inched higher, while Ether (COIN:ETHUSD) surged as much as 8.5% to $4,683, nearing its November 2021 peak of $4,861. Corporate buyers are increasingly stockpiling Ether, mirroring strategies used by Michael Saylor’s Strategy for Bitcoin accumulation.

Gold Rises Modestly

Gold prices climbed in early European trading on hopes of Fed easing and ahead of U.S.-Russia talks. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,359.54 per ounce, and December futures increased 0.3% to $3,408.22/oz by 03:35 ET.

Markets now see a 96% chance of a September rate cut, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool. Geopolitical developments moderated gains, as traders monitor Friday’s summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss Ukraine and potential ceasefire proposals.

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