US stock futures fell slightly as investors waited for the Fed’s new print. This is the most important measure of inflation and will give more information on interest rates.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.32%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 55 points, or 0.22%. Contracts on the high-tech Nasdaq Composite fell 0.62%.
The Fed’s price index for personal consumption spending is the one everyone’s watching.
Based on a Bloomberg Consensus Estimate, the PCE Index is expected to have risen 0.53% from the previous month in January. In December, PCE inflation increased by just 0.14% mom. On a year-over-year basis, PCE inflation is projected to reach 5.4% from the reported annual rate at the end of 2022, with no improvement.
Core PCE is set for a 0.43% increase in the prior month, up slightly from December’s 0.34%, and slightly slower growth of 4.34% on the year from 4.43% in the last month of 2022.
If these numbers materialize, they will support recent indications that inflation is not falling as fast and as much as investors had hoped, even as prices have stabilized.
Most recent stock movements
- Block (SQ) rose nearly 7.4% after the payment processor reported better-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter.
- Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) fell 5.4%.
- Boeing shares fell 3.3% after the airline maker said it had stopped deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner jets due to a documentation problem.
- Beyond Meat shares rose 13.4% after earnings, which were better than expected. The CEO said that they are making progress with cost cuts and production issues.
- Used car retailer Beleaguered was in a slump, down 4.4% after reporting a net loss that was nine times higher in the fourth quarter.
Investors changed their interest rate expectations after a strong return to price stability and strong economic data.
The S&P 500 snapped a 4-day losing streak on Thursday as shares closed higher.
