08:51 AM EDT, 08/12/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with economic data, recent oil price movement, world markets' overview and corporate stock movements.)

US equity futures were edging higher pre-bell Wednesday as traders assessed the latest national inflation report, which will be a major factor in the near-term direction of interest rates.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.8% higher.

The conflict in the Middle East showed no signs of de-escalating as US Central Command said in a post on X that it disabled a vessel in the Gulf of Oman that was in violation of the US blockade against Iran. In the Red Sea, a small Egyptian-owned cargo vessel was attacked by suspected Iran-backed Houthi forces, causing the deaths of six people, multiple media outlets reported.

Traders digested the latest round of earnings, with Amcor ( AMCCF ) posting higher fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and net sales.

Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) is expected to report its fiscal Q4 earnings after the market closes. Analysts polled by FactSet expect earnings of $1.17 per share on revenue of $16.84 billion.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.2% at $89.07 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.4% higher at $83.53 per barrel.

The July consumer price index, released at 8:30 am ET, gained 0.1%, compared with a 0.4% decline in the previous month, and meeting expectations in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.8% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.8% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.3% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.1%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.4% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, CoreWeave ( CRWV ) shares were up more than 20% after the company's Q2 results surpassed market expectations. Nebius ( NBIS ) stock was over 16% higher after the company reported a narrower Q2 loss than analyst estimates. SK hynix (SKHY) shares were up 4.6% after a report from The Asia Business Daily that the company and Samsung Electronics are set to receive investments from Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

On the losing side, Amcor ( AMCCF ) stock was down 1.4% after the company posted its fiscal Q4 financial results. Performance Food Group ( PFGC ) stock was down 4.9% after the company's fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and sales fell short of analysts' consensus.