US stocks advanced with investors gearing up for Tuesday’s reading on consumer prices. US Treasuries ended Monday lower, erasing earlier gains.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.2%. Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year rate around 3.61%. The dollar advanced.
All eyes will be on the US consumer price index reading on Tuesday, which is expected to show prices, while still high, are continuing to decelerate. The S&P 500 — in a best-case scenario — could rally as much as 10% on a softer CPI reading, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s sales and trading desk. However, the chances of that happening is about 5%, according to their analysis. A cooler inflation reading from the prior month spurred a 5.5% daily surge, with the S&P 500 index notching its best post-CPI day on record.
A subdued CPI print would justify the Federal Reserve’s projected half-point move on Wednesday and shed light on whether markets can expect rate cuts in late 2023. While central bank officials have indicated a downshift in the pace of rate hikes, they have also emphasized that borrowing costs will need to remain restrictive for some time.
“I wouldn’t read anything into the move today. The move will be after CPI, one way or another,” said John McClain, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global. “People are getting lulled into a false sense of security on a soft landing. The Fed isn’t cutting anytime soon. This is just going to be a longer cycle compared to 2020.”
Following the Fed, the European Central Bank will announce its rate decision Thursday. Markets will also contend with decisions from the Bank of England and monetary authorities in Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Switzerland and Taiwan.
Key events this week:
US CPI, Tuesday
FOMC rate decision and Fed Chair news conference, Wednesday
China medium-term lending, property investment, retail sales, industrial production, surveyed jobless, Thursday
ECB rate decision and ECB President Lagarde briefing, Thursday
Rate decisions for UK BOE, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thursday
US cross-border investment, business inventories, empire manufacturing, retail sales, initial jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday
Eurozone S&P Global PMI, CPI, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 1.4% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6%
The MSCI World index fell 0.1%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
The euro was little changed at $1.0535
The British pound was little changed at $1.2271
The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 137.73 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin was little changed at $17,130.18
Ether rose 0.2% to $1,267.06
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.61%
Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.94%
Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.20%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.4% to $73.41 a barrel
Gold futures fell 1.1% to $1,791.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
--With assistance from Srinivasan Sivabalan.