US stocks slip as hot inflation print ends 5-week win streak
- US stocks slipped lower on Friday after a hot inflation print capped off a week of key data points.
- The S&P 500 dipped 0.27% over the past five days, ending a 5-week win streak.
The stock market slipped on Friday after hot inflation capped off a busy week of economic data prints.
The Producer Price Index came in higher than expected, showing a 0.3% increase in prices from December, with a year-over-year increase of 0.9%. That's after hot CPI data rolled in earlier this week.
Even though the market recovered from Tuesday's hiccup, investor gloom has knocked stocks off a 5-week win streak. The S&P 500 is down 0.27% in the past 5 days, while the Nasdaq is down 1.02%.
This week also saw retail sales data slide lower, down 0.8% from a month earlier in January.
These data points highlight a robust economy, but mean a Fed rate cut is farther out than markets were hoping. On Thursday, Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said he's not convinced that inflation is definitely headed toward the central bank's 2% target.
After the PPI data came out, odds that the Fed would hold rates where they are during their May meeting jumped another 10%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
"Indeed, this [inflation] report has aligned the Fed's projected rate path with the market's, as investors are now pricing in just three cuts this year; earlier this year, they had expected seven," said José Torres, Senior Economist at Interactive Brokers. "The sharp adjustment in expectations has yet to affect equities in a meaningful way, however, with bullish sentiment and better-than-expected earnings reports providing robust support."
Here's where US indexes stood at the closing bell at 4:00 p.m. on Friday:
- S&P 500: 5,00.55, down 0.38%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,627.99, down 0.37% (-145.13 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 15,775.65, down 0.82%
Here's what else is going on:
- The market could fall 5% in an 'air-pocket drawdown' as greedy traders short volatility, a research firm said.
- The death of oil demand has been exaggerated and supply won't be able to keep up without more investment, according to Morningstar.
- A recession, investor FOMO, and inflation are threatening the stock market's red-hot rally.
- The data that powered the stock market rally is reversing and it's still possible the Fed raises rates before it cuts, one market vet said.
- Wall Street's excitement about Nvidia has reached a fever pitch as its valuation soars.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.51% to $79.21 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was also up 0.63% to $83.38 a barrel.
- Gold edged up 0.41% to $2,023.20 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 5.9 basis points to 4.299%.
- Bitcoin went up 0.2% to $51,809.75.