By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures were flat after a brief surge on Wednesday, as investors reacted to an unexpected drop in consumer price index--a key inflation measure.

The falling rate of inflation, which the CPI implies, means the Federal Reserve gives more credence to the notion that the Fed will stick to its current creeping course of dialing back economic stimulus.

Worries about the Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusions have colored much of the market action in the past few days. However, earlier sentiment on Wednesday was helped by People's Bank of China's most recent steps to inject billions into its banking system in order to boost flagging growth.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down a a point at 17,052, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) inched up less than a point to 1,992. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) were flat at 4,058.25.

In economic news, U.S. consumer prices fell in August for the first time in 16 months, largely because of a decline in the cost of filling up at the gas station, the government reported Wednesday. Separately, the U.S. current account deficit fell to $98.5 billion in the second quarter from a revised $102.2 billion in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

A home builders' index is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

Wednesday's spotlight falls on the FOMC statement, due at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. That will be followed by a news conference with Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Less fretting over rate hikes seemed to push the Dow industrials (DJI) to an intraday record high on Tuesday, and the S&P 500 index (SPX) to its biggest one-day gain in four weeks.

Some attributed those gains to a an article by Jon Hilsenrath, chief economic correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, who said in a webcast that he thinks the Fed may keep the words "considerable time" in its policy statement, but with clarification. He added that the Fed probably doesn't want to send a signal right now that rate hikes are imminent. Eight keys to Fed's September meeting and Fed's exit plan may be a bumpy ride for investors

If the "considerable time" phrase sticks, the market will be left as complacent on interest rates as it was two weeks ago, said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG, in a note. However, "it will mean that equity indexes should recover some of the upward momentum that has been lacking in recent sessions," he added. Need to Know: Two aging techs may be getting whipped back into 1990s shape

In Asia, Hong Kong stocks broke a five-session losing streak after a senior Chinese banking executive said the People's Bank of China is injecting 500 billion yuan ($81 billion) into the country's five big state-owned banks to help counter an economic slowdown. A string of recent weak data has heightened worries among investors.

Stocks to watch: Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUXL) soared 44% in premarket, after news late Tuesday that Endo International PLC (ENDP) will buy it for $28.10 per share in a cash-and-stock deal. Endo was up 5%.

Lennar Corp.(LEN) rose 5% after posting a 47% rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday as higher prices and deliveries drove up revenue.

General Mills Inc. (GIS) fell 3% after posting a disappointing quarterly profit.

DuPont (DD) shares rose 4% after an investor urged a breakup of the company.

FedEx Corp. (FDX) rose 2.1% in premarket trade after posting better-than-expected profit and sales.

U.S. Steel Corp. (X) was up 7% after the company said it was making major strategic changes late Tuesday.

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) fell 4%. The software maker posted quarterly results on Tuesday.

Rackspace Hosting Inc. (RAX) tumbled 18% after the cloud-computing company said it won't be selling itself.

Other markets: The Stoxx Europe 600 index took inspiration from Wall Street and China stimulus, while the FTSE 100 managed small gains ahead of Thursday's vote on Scottish independence. Gold(GCZ4) was unable to hang onto positive territory. Barclays cut its forecast for the metal, citing risks skewed to the downside.

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