Stock Market Today: Stocks mixed with CPI inflation report up next

11 Dec 2024, 11:16 by Martin Baccardax · The Fresno Bee

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U.S. equity futures were mixed in early Wednesday trading, while Treasury yields and the dollar moved higher, as investors braced for a key November inflation report that could test market bets on an end-of-year rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

Stocks ended lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 trimming its December gain to around 0.34%, as investors grew increasingly cautious into today's inflation reading. A broader move higher in Treasury yields, following a mixed set of figures from as $58 billion sale of 3-year notes, added to the downside pressure.

The Commerce Department is expected to report that headline inflation pressures ticked modestly higher last month, with economists looking for a year-on-year advance of 2.7%. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy costs, likely held at 3.3%.

Faster readings for either gauge, however, could blunt wages on the Fed's next rate move, which will be unveiled alongside new growth and inflation projections next week in Washington.

"Fed messaging has intentionally left wiggle room in their decision making for the December meeting by repeating that they believe they are still restrictive – cutting towards a neutral rate rather than an accommodative one," said Lauren Goodwin at economist and chief market strategist at New York Life Investments.

"This allows for further cuts without the tone being overly dovish against the backdrop of a still-strong economy," she added.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank will remain data-dependent in determining its next rate move.Olivier Douliery/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg via Getty Images/TheStreet

At present, the CME Group's FedWatch suggests an 86.1% chance of a quarter point rate cut, with the next move lower likely in March.

Benchmark 2-year Treasury note yields were last marked 1 basis point higher at 4.166% while 10-year paper rose 2 basis points to 4.238% ahead of a $39 billion auction of re-opened notes later in the session.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.31% higher at 106.743 amid the recent moves in Treasury yields and a report that suggests China may allow its yuan to drift lower in order to compensate for planned tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump.

Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a modest 9 point opening bell gain, while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are priced for a 45 point decline.

The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 52 points higher with Nvidia (NVDA) , Tesla (TSLA) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) some of the more active names in premarket.

On the deal front, Kroger (KR) and Albertsons (ACI) shares were little-changed in premarket after a judge blocked their planned $25 billion merger on competition grounds.

U.S. Steel (X) , meanwhile, was marked 0.23% lower amid expectations that President Joe Biden will block its planned takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel following a report from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States later this month.

More Wall Street Analysts:

In overseas markets, stocks were little-changed ahead of today's U.S. inflation report, as well as rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank tomorrow.

The region-wide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.01% lower in mid-day Frankfurt trading, with Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.04% higher in London.

Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 0.012% higher while the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark fell 0.54% into the close of trading.

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This story was originally published December 11, 2024, 3:16 AM.