Stock Market News Today – Indices Jump Ahead of Tomorrow’s CPI Report

Last Updated 4:05 PM EST

Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the green ahead of tomorrow’s CPI report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) gained 0.8%, 1.28%, and 1.76%, respectively.

The consumer staples sector was the session’s laggard, as it gained 0.03%. Conversely, the real estate sector was the session’s leader, with a gain of 3.61%.

Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield decreased to 3.54%. Similarly, the Two-Year Treasury yield also decreased, as it hovers around 4.22%. This brings the spread between them to -68 basis points.

Compared to yesterday, the market is pricing in a higher chance of a lower Fed Funds rate for June 2023. In fact, the market’s expectations for a rate in the range of 5.25% to 5.5% decreased to 8.7% compared to yesterday’s expectations of 9.4%.

In addition, the market is now also assigning a 45.3% probability to a range of 4.75% to 5%. For reference, investors had assigned a 44.6% chance yesterday.

Last Updated at 2:58PM EST

Stocks are in the green heading into the final hour of today’s trading session. As of 2:58 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 are up 0.6%, 0.9%, and 1.2%, respectively.

In addition, WTI crude oil is higher today, as it hovers around the mid-$77 per barrel range. The commodity’s recent uptrend has caused prices at the pump to increase slightly when compared to last week.

Indeed, the national average for regular gas was last $3.267 per gallon, up from last week’s reading of $3.26. This is significantly lower than the all-time high of $5.016 per gallon on June 14.

The highest prices can be found in Hawaii, where prices are substantially higher than the national average, at $5.004 per gallon. On the other hand, Texas is the state with the lowest gas prices, at $2.84 per gallon.

It’ll be interesting to see if this downward trend will continue going forward as the Federal Reserve looks to raise interest rates to fight inflation while oil producers lower production in order to maintain the price.

Stocks Rally; Mortgage Rates Fall

Last Updated 11:35AM EST

Stocks are in the green as we approach the halfway point of today’s trading session. As of 11:35 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 are up 0.2%, 0.5%, and 0.7%, respectively.

On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association released its weekly report for the U.S. 30-Year mortgage rate. The mortgage rate decreased to 6.42% compared to last week’s reading of 6.58%.

Due to the lower rates, the number of mortgage applications increased week-over-week by 1.2%, following last week’s decrease of -10.3%.

In addition, mortgage application volume is down substantially on a year-over-year basis, with the Mortgage Market Index at 186.7 compared to 580.6 on January 12, 2022. This indicates that sentiment in the real estate market is falling, which is consistent with other data that has been released so far.

Stocks Open in the Green as CPI Data Looms

Last updated: 9:36AM EST

Markets opened in the green on Wednesday morning as investors await inflation data, due to be announced on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.4% each as of 9:36 a.m. EST, Wednesday.

First published:6:39 AM EST

Stock futures climbed on Wednesday morning as traders were relieved by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s non-momentous speech.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.15% while those on the S&P 500 inched up 0.21%, as of 6.39 a.m. EST, Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 futures popped 0.19%.

Powell Plays Safe, Stock Market Relieved

Markets gained momentum after Powell remained on the sidelines about how much the interest rates are expected to rise in the next FOMC meeting. Rather, he emphasized the importance of keeping the Fed’s monetary policy decisions free of political influence. This made investors hope that nothing extraordinary is in store in the next interest rate hike cycle.

At the end of Tuesday’s trading session, the S&P 500, the Dow, and the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.7%, 0.56%, and 0.88%, respectively.

Economic Predictions

Investors are anxiously waiting for December’s Consumer Price Index data on Thursday. This is a key piece of information that will be gauged by the Fed to determine what stand to take. Inflation is largely expected to have cooled in December, which, if occurs, is likely to spur a relief rally.

Nonetheless, interest rate hikes have turned out to be the bigger market drivers rather than inflation numbers, and a bull market is not expected to begin until the Fed pivots.

That said, a pivot is not visible on the horizon yet. The market is likely to continue to ebb and flow through most of the year, but the bull will remain on the back foot until several economic targets are accomplished.

No matter how much the prices have gone down in December (if at all), inflation is still likely to be well above the Fed’s target of 2%-3%.

Moreover, the Fed is striving to bring up the nation’s unemployment rate to stabilize prices. However, the labor market refuses to bend yet. The unemployment rate, which remained steady at 3.7% until November, dropped to 3.4% in December. While this is good news for the public, this could mean a tighter policy path ahead at least until unemployment reaches roughly 5%.

Other Financial News: Earnings Ahead

Many investors are cautious ahead of earnings season. Quarterly earnings releases of several big banks are due on Friday, giving investors the first look at how the financial sector has performed in the final quarter of 2022.

Some of the banks lined up for Friday are Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), shadow bank BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Citigroup (NYSE:C), and more.

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