U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Thursday as investors refrained from making large bets ahead of crucial inflation numbers that are likely to influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.

A reading of consumer prices is due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with inflation expected to have picked up in August. Last month's producer inflation numbers, released on Wednesday, fell unexpectedly, boosting expectations of interest-rate cuts from the Fed at its meeting next week.

Recent economic indicators have shown the U.S. labor market was weaker than previously thought, bringing bets on a bigger-than-usual 50-basis-point trim in September to 10.2%.

Continued labor market weakness, especially bleak nonfarm payrolls data for July and August, prompted investors to fully price in at least 25 bps of easing at the central bank's September 16-17 meeting.

"We expect ... forthcoming consumer price inflation data today to also keep the door open for a resumption in U.S. interest-rate cuts," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management.

"The combination of a moderation in jobs growth and still-manageable inflation should keep the Fed on track to cut rates, with a 25-basis-point cut expected in September."

A weekly reading of jobless claims data is also due alongside the inflation report.
At 7:03 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 89 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 13 points, or 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 67 points, or 0.28%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record high closes on Wednesday, partly helped by a nearly 36% surge in Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab after an upbeat forecast that brought the cloud computing company closer to joining the trillion-dollar club.

It revived the AI trade on Wednesday, sparking a rally in artificial-intelligence-linked chip and utility companies supplying power to data centers.
Oracle rose 1.6% in premarket trading on Thursday.