The New York Stock Exchange is set to open with little change on Thursday, as investors were slow to digest the announcement of a re-acceleration in inflation, which calls into question the Fed's scenario of a rapid rate cut.

Half an hour before the opening, futures contracts on the main New York indices are little changed or slightly down, suggesting a session start with no real direction.

According to the Labor Department, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.4% in December compared with the same month in 2022, an annual rate up 0.3 points on November.

The core CPI inflation rate - which excludes energy and food - came in at 3.9% annualized last month, again higher than expected.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department also reported an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims, to 202.000 in the week to January 6, compared with 203,000 the previous week.

This latest sign of strength in the labor market could put the brakes on the Federal Reserve's rate cuts this year.

The markets now see a 61.4% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in March, compared with 64.7% yesterday, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Following the release of these indicators, index futures quickly turned lower, but investors have gradually calmed down and futures are now trading close to equilibrium.

The weaker-than-expected data also led to a fall in the dollar, which fell 0.3% against the euro to 1.0940.

Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year Treasuries edged up above 4.04%, after hovering around the technical 4% mark for most of the week.

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