Friends
Stocks seemed to like the inflation numbers at first glance, then things went south for much of the trading session only to recover somewhat by the close. As mentioned, we got a look at the Consumer Price Index this morning and things came in about as expected. Year over year inflation is running at 4.9% (a little better than expected) and since June of last year has fallen from 9.1% to where we are today. Since the Fed’s “target” is 2% it’s obvious that victory has not been claimed, but we have seen inflation inch lower and lower over the past months, so things continue to move in the right direction.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 30 points to finish the day at 33,531. The S&P 500 was up 18 points to close at 4,137. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 126 points to close at 12,306. Gold was down $5 to trade at $2,037 per ounce, while oil was down $.97 to trade at $ 72.74 per barrel WTI.
We will get a look at Disney’s earnings after the close and tomorrow we will get the PPI report which measures inflation at the wholesale level. Today’s volatility after the CPI release seems to indicate that market participants aren’t sure just where to focus their attention right now – budget crisis, inflation, recession? Let’s see how the rest of the week plays out.
Have a nice evening everyone.
