Friends
We got another hotter than expected inflation report with today’s PPI report, which measures inflation at the wholesale/producer level. As with the CPI report, stocks sold off in fear that inflation is still sticky, and the Fed will be slower to reduce interest rates this year. This week’s data was hardly good for the bulls, but in the end the damage to the markets was somewhat measured.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 145 points to finish the day at 38,627. The S&P 500 was down 24 points to close at 5,005. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 130 points to close at 15,775. Gold was up $9 to trade at $2,024 per ounce, while oil was up $1.01 to trade at $79.04 per barrel WTI.
So, now the narrative is that the Fed will likely cut 3 times this year and it may not be until the second half of the year. Remember visions of 6 or more rate cuts were dancing in the heads of the bulls just weeks ago. But the direction would almost surely be lower for rates this year which might be all the really matters. Remember, the markets are closed for President’s Day on Monday. We’ll be back with you on Tuesday.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Jim
