Friends
On a month to month basis, this morning’s CPI number actually came in a little hotter than expected, but the year over year number was in line with expectations. Nevertheless, despite what could be perceived as a slightly troublesome measure of current inflation, stocks moved higher throughout the trading session.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 617 points to finish the day at 46,108. The S&P 500 was up 55 points to close at 6,587. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 157 points to close at 22,043. Gold was down $6.90 to trade at $3,675 per ounce, while oil was down $1.42 to trade at $62.25 per barrel WTI.
As for the Fed and next week’s FOMC meeting, it appears that we should see at least a quarter point cut in the Fed Funds rate. A half point rate cut isn’t totally out of the question but I’d expect the Fed to be measured at this moment in time. Until then let’s see how the week finishes out tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
