US stock futures held steady on Friday as investors looked ahead to a key inflation report that could shape the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. The Commerce Department is set to release delayed September data on the personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, along with figures on consumer spending and incomes. Meanwhile, ADP reported an unexpected decline of about 32,000 in private payrolls, while Challenger announced 71,321 layoffs in November, reinforcing signs of labor market cooling despite weekly initial claims easing to roughly 191,000. In regular trading on Thursday, the Dow slipped 0.07%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.11% and 0.22%, respectively. In extended trading, Ulta Beauty jumped 6% on strong earnings, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise and SoFi Technologies fell 9% and 6%, respectively, after disappointing updates.
