Cardinal shares tumbled 6% in early morning action, while Circle stock jumped 6.5%. On stock surged 12%, as Sea shares climbed nearly 9%. Finally, Tencent Music shares rallied 4.5% in premarket trading. The Labor Department's July CPI inflation data is due out at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The inflation data, which is prepared and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is bound to be the day's biggest market-mover. The authenticity of the results themselves will also be a topic of serious consideration, in part because of the controversy surrounding the agency in recent weeks.

U.S. stock futures are trading higher early Wednesday as traders speculate on a potential rate cut in September following the easing inflation

Within the Nasdaq -100 index, Advanced Micro Devices AMD and Palo Alto Networks PANW were among the best performers at the market open. AMD stock rallied 4.8%, hitting a new 52-week high. Palo Alto shares rose 1.8%, on pace to add to Tuesday's 4.3% advance.

Stocks closed near unchanged on Thursday, slowing a rally that has pushed major indexes to record highs, after fresh inflation data revived concerns about the impact that tariffs are having on the economy.