Wall St Ends up as Data Suggests Inflation May Be on Downward Trend
- U.S. consumer prices fall in December
- Quarterly results from big banks due Friday
- Indexes: $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US$ up 0.6%, $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US$ up 0.3%, $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US$ up 0.6%
- Quarterly results from big banks due Friday
- Indexes: $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US$ up 0.6%, $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US$ up 0.3%, $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US$ up 0.6%
U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, extending recent gains as data showing a fall in consumer prices in December bolstered expectations of less aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
U.S consumer prices fell for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years in December, the report showed, giving some hope that inflation was now on a sustained downward trend.
"Most investors are seeing inflation come down. That's a positive sign, and I would expect earnings to be decent," said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, Texas.
Friday brings results from a number of big U.S. banks, kicking off the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season for S&P 500 companies.
Trading was choppy following the CPI data. Rents remained very high in the report, while the labor market remains tight, and inflation is still well above the Fed's target.
A separate report on Thursday showed weekly jobless claims fell last week.
But some strategists said the slowdown in U.S. inflation may pave the way for the Fed to be able to bring down consumer prices without badly damaging growth.
Traders' bets of a 25-basis point rate hike by the Fed in February shot up to 91% after the data, from 77% previously.
$Microsoft(MSFT.US$ shares rose 1.2%, providing the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, while energy shares also were higher along with oil prices. Energy rose 1.9% and was the day's best performer among sectors. $SPDR S&P 500 ETF(SPY.US$ $Invesco QQQ Trust(QQQ.US$
U.S consumer prices fell for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years in December, the report showed, giving some hope that inflation was now on a sustained downward trend.
"Most investors are seeing inflation come down. That's a positive sign, and I would expect earnings to be decent," said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, Texas.
Friday brings results from a number of big U.S. banks, kicking off the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season for S&P 500 companies.
Trading was choppy following the CPI data. Rents remained very high in the report, while the labor market remains tight, and inflation is still well above the Fed's target.
A separate report on Thursday showed weekly jobless claims fell last week.
But some strategists said the slowdown in U.S. inflation may pave the way for the Fed to be able to bring down consumer prices without badly damaging growth.
Traders' bets of a 25-basis point rate hike by the Fed in February shot up to 91% after the data, from 77% previously.
$Microsoft(MSFT.US$ shares rose 1.2%, providing the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, while energy shares also were higher along with oil prices. Energy rose 1.9% and was the day's best performer among sectors. $SPDR S&P 500 ETF(SPY.US$ $Invesco QQQ Trust(QQQ.US$
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