Stocks opened up after December’s consumer prices report came in in line with economist expectations and showed inflation continues to cool.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 99 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 added 0.3%, while Nasdaq Composite was near flat.
The December report showed a 0.1% dip in prices from November but was still 6.5% higher than a year prior. In November, the report showed a 0.1% monthly gain and an annual pace of 7.1%, according to Dow Jones.
The CPI without food and energy prices also came in in line with expectations, showing a month-over-month gain of 0.3%. The stripped-down index was 5.7% higher than a year ago in December.
The S&P 500 is up 4% and the Nasdaq Composite is 6% higher in the last five days of trading as investors bet the CPI report would confirm a slowing inflation trend. Stock futures whipsawed in the minutes directly following the report’s release.
“Markets have remained confident the Fed will be able to control inflation, but that remains to be seen. The Consumer Price Index is just one measure of inflation and it’s calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics with a large component being owner occupied rent. CPI is not the only way to measure inflation,” said Nancy Davis, founder of Quadratic Capital Management.
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