Futures Little Changed Wednesday on Powell Remarks

Futures for stocks in this country were flat on Wednesday as investors avoided big bets ahead of key U.S. inflation data that could support Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's fresh hawkish comments.The TSX waned 27.03 points to close Tuesday at 25,631.83Futures were down 0.06% early Wednesday. The Canadian dollar gave back 0.04 cents to 69.95 cents U.S. early Wednesday. In company news, Barrick Gold on Wednesday beat analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter profit on higher gold prices and production.ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 8.48 points, or 1.3%, Tuesday to 634.54ON WALLSTREET Stock futures fell slightly on Wednesday as investors awaited January’s consumer inflation report.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped 67 points, or 0.2% to 44,641.Futures for the S&P 500 docked 6.5, or 0.1%, to 6,085.75.Futures for the tech-heavy NASDAQ settled back 2.75 points to 21,789.50. The consumer price index report is set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Headline inflation is expected to have grown 0.3% from the prior month and 2.9% from 12 months earlier, according to Dow Jones.Some economists on Wall Street have raised concerns that even as certain categories may see disinflation going forward, Trump’s tariffs could offset that. But even with these worries, the economy remains resilient and investors should bear that in mind.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 returned to trading after a Tuesday holiday, with a gain of 0.4%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng jumped 2,6%. Oil prices lost 87 cents to $72.45 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices dropped $25.00 to $2,907.60 U.S. an ounce.