Friends
Today’s PPI inflation data came in a little hotter than expected. Remember, the Producer Price Index measured prices at the wholesale level. Today’s number won’t likely change the Fed’s propensity to cut rates next week, but it is a concern that inflation is still sticky, and the Fed’s 2% target may be very difficult to achieve.
As for the market’s reaction, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 234 points to finish the day at 43,914. The S&P 500 was down 32 points to close at 6,051. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 132 points to close at 19,902. Gold was down $50 to trade at $2,706 per ounce, while oil was down $.06 to trade at $70.23 per barrel WTI.
The daily tug of war right now seems to be about economic/earnings hope vs. stock valuations. As I have said, conditions for stocks continue to be good, but valuations are stretched. We’ll see if fear of missing out trumps the fear of “buying high” as we near year end. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
Jim
