The Dow surged 700 points after the latest core inflation report indicated a slowdown, bolstered further by strong banking earnings.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December increased by 0.4%, slightly higher than the anticipated 0.3%. This rise brought the 12-month inflation rate to 2.9%, which aligns with expectations. In contrast, the core CPI, excluding the more volatile food and energy prices, saw a monthly increase of 0.2%, below the expected 0.3%. Additionally, the year-over-year core CPI rose by 3.2%, also cooler than 3.3% forecasted.
The favorable retail inflation figures, combined with a lower-than-anticipated producer price index (PPI) report from the previous day, indicate that the Federal Reserve is nearing its 2% inflation goal. These reports also bolster optimism regarding potential interest rate reductions later this year.
In the morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 712 points, or 1.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 added 2.1% and 1.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.686%.
Major banking firms released their financial reports this morning, and most of their earnings exceeded expectations. Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC+5.48%), Goldman Sachs (GS+5.93%), and Citigroup (C+6.59%) were up by 4.4%, 4.3%, and 4.7% after beating the quarterly estimates.
The post The Dow soars 700 points as inflation cools and bank earnings slay appeared first on Quartz.
