Friends
Today’s CPI report was as expected. We saw a .2% monthly increase in inflation at the retail level and 2.9% year over year. That is a little better than the 3% that economists expected. The takeaway is that it appears that the coast is clear for the Fed to lower interest rates in September. The question is will it be a 25-basis point decrease in the Fed Funds rate or a 50-basis point decrease.
Bonds rallied a little bit on the news while stocks moved modestly higher. By the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 242 points to finish the day at 40,007. The S&P 500 was up 20 points to close at 5,455. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4 points to close at 17,192. Gold was down $23 to trade at $2,484 per ounce, while oil was down $1.21 to trade at $77.14 per barrel WTI.
Remember, we get a look at retail sales tomorrow and also an earnings release from Walmart. It will be interesting to hear commentary from Walmart with regards to what they see with regards to the consumer as we work our way through the second half of the year. Stay tuned, it should be another interesting trading session tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
