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US stocks were mostly lower on Monday as investors await a key February inflation report.
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The February CPI report will be released Tuesday morning, and it will help inform when the Fed might cut interest rates.
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CPI year-over-year is expected to hit 3.1%, which is just above the Fed’s long-term 2% target.
US stocks traded mostly lower on Monday as investors awaited the release of a key inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended with a small gain, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both closed lower. Mega-cap stalwarts Nvidia and Meta Platforms both stumbled, with the chip maker closing 2% lower and the Facebook parent dropping more than 4%.
Investors are awaiting the consumer price index report for February, set to be released Tuesday morning, and the reading will help inform investors when the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates.
The median forecast suggests year-over-year CPI will hit 3.1%, which is still above the Fed’s long-term target of 2%. The month-over-month Core CPI figure is expected to be 0.3%, which would align with the hotter-than-expected January CPI report.
“We lean towards this being a ‘hot’ CPI print, meaning the inflation for Feb core CPI likely is above the Street’s +0.30% MoM,” Fundstrat’s Tom Lee told clients in a note on Monday.
If the stock market sells off in the face of a hot inflation report, Lee said it would likely prove to be a “buy the dip” moment, as much of the inflation in February is likely to have been driven by “residual seasonality that should fade by March,” Lee said.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:
Here’s what else is going on today:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
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West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 0.17% to $78.14 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 0.44% to $82.44 a barrel.
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Gold increased by 0.14% to $2,188.60 per ounce.
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The 10-year Treasury yield rose by 2 basis points to 4.10%.
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Bitcoin jumped 4.70% to $72,267.
Read the original article on Business Insider