Wall Street Today | Slow Monday Market As Investors Await CPI and FOMC Meeting

U.S. stock indexes traded higher on a slow Monday in the lead-up to the release of key inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision later this week. A stronger-than-expected jobs report pushed indexes into an upward trend last week that continued into the new week.

On Friday, the Dow industrials hit its highest close since Jan. 12, 2022. The S&P 500 finished at its best close since March 29, 2022, and the Nasdaq Composite hit its highest since April 4, 2022.

Investors now turn their attention to the final Fed meeting of the year on Wednesday and important inflation data ahead of that.

Two- and 10-year Treasury yields continued to inch higher Monday afternoon following a pair of government-debt auctions that produced lackluster demand. Treasury's $37 billion sale of 10-year debt came in weak, while a $50 billion sale of 3-year notes was met with poor demand.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve policymakers will meet to decide on monetary policy. Traders put a 98% probability the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25%-5.5% at its meeting this week and a 94% chance of no action by January. However, the chance of at least a 25-basis-point cut by March was seen at 38.4%, down from 57.4% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Last Friday's strong jobs data has prompted traders to push back on expectations for the first Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next year. Fed-funds futures traders now see a 39.9% chance of at least a 25-basis-point cut by March, down from 57.4% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Citi analysts resumed coverage of Broadcom with a buy rating and a price target of $1,100, citing strength in its core business and the positive impact from the VMware deal, according to Seeking Alpha. The analysts also forecast sales from the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to double to $8 billion in fiscal year 2024, from $4 billion in 2023.

Natural-gas futures fall by more than 10% on forecasts for milder weather, following Oil futures lower on Monday, extending declines after marking their longest streak of weekly declines since 2018, on concerns about a slowing global economy and booming U.S. supply.

Oil traders couldn't help but take notice over the weekend when China's official consumer-price index showed prices fell in November at the fastest clip in three years, declining 0.5% on a year-over-year and month-over-month basis, according to National Bureau of Statistics.