The two economic reports on Tuesday—job openings and the prices-paid index among service companies—raised fresh inflation concerns.
Gerry Sparrow
Stocks finished the week mixed, bookending losses around midweek gains as investors digested fresh inflation data.
There were signals of some uncertainty about the pace of future rate cuts, which slightly unsettled the markets.
With the election on the horizon and quarterly earnings season in full swing, it was the sixth straight week of gains.
Stocks were essentially unchanged last week as geopolitical tensions added some volatility to an otherwise quiet trading week.
When Fed Chair Powell laid out a strategy to cut short-term interest rates, but did not say “when” or “how much”, the financial markets helped him fill in the blanks to both questions.
Investors responded favorably to Fed Chair Powell's much anticipated speech about rate cuts. The remaining question being how significant a rate cut might be.
Last week’s market rally saw assists from two places: economic data and constructive Fed comments. Three critical economic data points gave investors what they were looking for: wholesale inflation, consumer prices, and retail sales.