U.S. stocks opened higher after a cool inflation report eased fears for now that inflation is ticking back up.
The producer price index (PPI), a measure of wholesale prices, rose 0.2% in December from the prior month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That was less than Dow Jones’ average economist forecast for a 0.4% jump. The monthly core rate, which excludes the volatile food and energy sectors, was flat.
“PPI reminds people that we’re still in a period of moderating prices and falling rates,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at online trading platform TradeStation. “It vindicates the Fed’s decision to ease last year and restores some hope of a second rate cut. Dropping food prices are also welcome news for the incoming Trump Administration.”
Around 10:30 AM ET, the broad S&P 500 index added 0.28%, or 22.32 points, to 5,858.54, the blue-chip Dow rose 0.46%, or 193.63 points, to 42,490.75 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.54%, or 102.84 points, to 19,190.94. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.801%.
Inflation caution remains
Even with the better-than-expected PPI, all eyes will be on consumer inflation, or what everyday Americans pay for goods and services, economists said.
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“Friday’s exceptionally strong jobs report seems to have woken up the inflation worriers from their hibernation,” said BeiChen Lin, investment strategist at money manager Russell Investments. “Even a mildly hotter than expected inflation report could cause a sell-off in bonds and equities.”
A hot inflation report could add to the argument the Federal Reserve should keep rates higher for longer, economists said. Higher rates make borrowing more expensive and slow the economy and corporate profits, while inflation eats away at bond returns.
Economists, on average, forecast the annual consumer price index (CPI) to have been up 2.8% in December from 2.7% the prior month, FactSet said. The annual core rate is expected to remain steady at 3.3%.
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Corporate news
In other news, major U.S. banks like JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are slated to report quarterly results on Wednesday. That should give investors the first glimpse of how companies and consumers are faring, analysts said. Banks can provide a firsthand look at demand for loans, credit card usage, credit quality as well as offer an outlook for how President-elect Donald Trump’s policies may play out for the economy.
- Bitcoin jumped, pulling bitcoin-holder Microstrategy, crypto exchange Coinbase and miner Riot Platforms higher. Around 10:25 AM ET, bitcoin was up more than 2% at $96,756.04.
- Tesla shares are almost 3% higher after reports said China is considering a sale of Tik Tok to Telsa founder Elon Musk. The U.S. said it would ban TikTok in the U.S beginning on Jan. 19, unless its Beijing-based parent, ByteDance, divests itself of the operation.
- Eli Lilly tumbled nearly 7% after the company gave a disappointing revenue outlook, citing slower-than-expected growth in sales of its weight-loss drugs.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.