US stock futures hovered around the flatline as Wall Street awaited another pulse check on inflation after Tuesday's tepid figures sent rate-cut bets and markets soaring.

The S&P 500 was lifted 0.8%, looking at a record-high close. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%, after hitting a new intraday on the stock market today. Small caps on the Russell 2000 fared better than the major indexes and powered up 1.6%.

The S&P 500 last gained 20.65 points, or 0.32%, to 6,394.10 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 69.38 points, or 0.32%, to 21,454.78.