US stock futures slipped on Tuesday as rising oil prices and inflation jitters took focus at the start of the holiday-shortened week.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) declined by 0.7%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) fell 0.2%. Contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) dropped just below the flatline as investors eyed inflation data and Oracle earnings later this week.

Rising oil prices put pressure on markets as Iran said it was close to a deal with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint that carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil shipments. Brent crude oil futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, crept toward $100 per barrel, while US benchmark WTI crude (CL=F) neared $93 per barrel. Elevated energy costs feed into consumer prices, which is why oil at these levels is adding to the inflation worries already weighing on rate-sensitive markets.

Fears of an ongoing war in the Middle East have revived angst about inflation and a potential Federal Reserve rate hike this month, particularly after Friday's blowout jobs report showed strong job gains in August. Investors are bracing for a fresh Consumer Price Index reading on Friday, which will indicate whether inflation is moving back down toward the Fed's 2% goal or whether it remains a thorn in the central bank's — and consumers' — side. The release lands against an unusual backdrop of open political pressure on the central bank, adding to the attention around the Fed's next policy meeting.

On the earnings calendar, Oracle (ORCL) earnings are the highlight this week, a report closely watched as a read on enterprise cloud and AI spending. But first, GameStop (GME) reports on Tuesday.

Wall Street weighs in on Fed's next policy decision after blowout jobs report

Wall Street sees a blowout jobs report and spiking Treasury yields as another sign that the Fed is going to have to hike rates to clamp down on inflation. The US economy added 162,000 jobs last month, blowing past economists' expectations. If the Fed was looking for clues of a slowing economy, this report wasn't it.

"They're a little bit behind the curve," Joe Brusuelas, RSM chief economist, told Yahoo Finance, in reference to the central bank. "They're going to need to hike rates if they want to reinforce their credibility, and that's going to cause a lot of problems at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

The Trump administration has been pushing hard for lower rates to bring borrowing costs down and flatten the yield curve, with the president threatening a trade embargo if they don't.

Source: Yahoo Finance

What's happening today

Economic data on tap:

• NFIB small business optimism survey, August (99.2 expected, 99.8 previously)
• NY Fed 1-year inflation expectations, August (3.63% previously)
• Consumer credit, July ($12.97 billion expected, $14.17 billion previously)

Earnings calendar: Casey's General Stores (CASY), FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF), GameStop (GME), VinFast Auto (VFS)

Top stories from over the weekend:

• Trump: Canada's Bombardier cannot sell in US unless it builds there
• OpenAI top scientist urges 'extreme caution' with pace of AI
• Canada set to hit back at Trump tariffs, risking wider trade war
• Shein's value down $5 billion, among HK's worst post-IPO weeks
• Why Nvidia wants Hugging Face to keep helping its rivals
• Trump promises his Venezuela oil deal will 'fill up' the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It's not that simple.

China's exports pick up in August, jumping 25% on strong demand for autos and high-tech goods

The AP reports: China's exports accelerated in August, jumping 25% from a year earlier on strong demand for autos and high-tech goods, its customs agency said Tuesday. The data came ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, set for late September, though Beijing has not yet confirmed the exact date for the visit. The strong figures arrive as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing remain elevated, and a Trump-Xi meeting would be the most direct channel yet for addressing them.

Exports grew 23.9% year-on-year in July. Imports climbed 28.2% in August from a year earlier, up from July's 27.5% rise. That led to a $119.1 billion trade surplus for China, widening from $112.5 billion in July.

"China is very competitive in its tech goods exports," said Chi Lo, a senior market strategist for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

In recent years, rising exports of electric vehicles, industrial machinery and semiconductors have helped fuel China's robust shipments globally.

Source: AP News, via Yahoo Finance

Original article: Yahoo Finance