After initially struggling for direction, stock futures are turning higher this morning following the release of better-than-expected inflation data. According to the U.S. Labor Department, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 5.3% year-over-year, and 0.3% from July, both of which came in below Wall Street's expectations. In response, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are up triple digits, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are modestly higher as well.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone revisits this key SPX channel.
• Why call traders blitzed Carlyle stock yesterday.
• Plus, unpacking Oracle's earnings; Apple's vaunted device reveal; and Piper Sandler reiterates its COIN rating. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 863,839 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.46 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.51.
2. Cloud concern Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is down 3.1% before the open, despite the company reporting estimate-beating earnings of $1.03 per share. Revenue fell well short of forecasts though, as cloud computing competition continues to ramp up. Despite this, no less than four price-target hikes were dished out t ORCL following the event. Year-to-date, Oracle stock is up 37.4%.
3. The shares of Apple Inc (NYSE:AAPL) are up 0.2% in pre-market trading, ahead of its annual iPhone launch event. AirPods and Apple Watch updates are anticipated, as well as an iOS update that fixes a spyware flaw. Year-over-year, Apple stock is up 33.5%.
4. Piper Sandler reiterated its "overweight" rating on Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), as the cryptocurrency exchange operator is experiencing a pullback on the charts. Though COIN is up 1.3% ahead of the opening bell, the stock has shed 12.8% in the last week, as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) continue to face increased volatile trading.
5. Today will also feature the National Federation of Independent Business' (NFIB) small-business index.

European Markets Lower as Investors Await Tapering Timeline

Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday, as investors awaited key U.S. consumer inflation data for August. Pacing the laggards was China’s Shanghai Composite, which fell 1.4%, followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.2% loss, after Chinese real estate mogul Evergrande Group’s stock plummeted on a grim sales outlook. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei both added 0.7%.

European markets are lower, meanwhile, with the timeline of the Federal Reserve’s tapering of monetary stimulus potentially hanging in the balance. However, the European Central Bank said it will act swiftly if inflation continues to run hot. Also weighing on investor sentiment are the latest Brexit developments, with Britain threatening to suspend the Northern Ireland protocol. At last check, France’s CAC 40 has shaved off 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.5%, and the German DAX is 0.2% lower.

Today will feature the National Federation of Independent Business' (NFIB) small-business index, as well as CPI and core CPI updates.

The following company is due to release quarterly earnings today, September 14:

FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL -- $5.62) designs, manufactures, sells, installs, operates, and services stationary fuel cell power plants for distributed baseload power generation. FuelCell Energy will report its Q3 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, investors can expect the import price and Empire State indexes. In addition, industrial production and capacity utilizations data are due out.

All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.