Friends
Stocks moved higher despite a hotter than expected PPI number this morning. Once the report was dissected, market participants felt the narrative should not be disturbed. Of course, we get a look at the Consumer Price Index tomorrow. The last 3 months have been problematic so it will be interesting to see if tomorrow’s number changes the narrative. Expectations are that April prices moved up .4% which would indicate a 3.4% annual inflation rate.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 126 points to finish the day at 39,558. The S&P 500 was up 25 points to close at 5,246. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 122 points to close at 16,511. Gold was up $18 to trade at $2,361 per ounce, while oil was down $1.05 to trade at $78.07 per barrel WTI.
It has not mattered that interest rates have not fallen as long as investors believe that they will eventually. What would become problematic is that if inflation numbers created an environment where investors started to believe that rate hikes might actually be needed to continue the inflation fight. Let’s see how tomorrow’s CPI number plays. It should be interesting.
Have a nice evening everyone.
