Friends
While yesterday’s CPI number was flat month over month, today’s PPI (Wholesale Inflation) number was actually down .5% month over month which was also a surprise. The core PPI number was up .2% vs. the .4% estimate, so taken altogether the inflation picture from July was better than had been feared. Stocks added to yesterday’s gains at the open but gave up those gains as the trading session wore on.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 27 points to close at 33,337. The S&P 500 was down 2 points to finish the day at 4,207. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 74 points to close at 12,779. Gold was down $11 to trade at $1,802 per ounce, while oil was up $2.05 to trade at $ 93.98 per barrel WTI.
Given the run that stocks have been on since late June, it’s not a surprise that the bulls ran out of a little gas today. As I mentioned we have about a month before the next Fed meeting so market participants will be in limbo for a while as they wait for additional data and commentary from Fed officials. In the meantime, let’s see how the week finishes out tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
