Fed policymakers may be able to reduce interest rates a couple of times this year, after a government report helped allay fears that inflation was accelerating in the final full month of Joe Biden’s presidency. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy prices and is seen as a gauge of underlying inflation pressures, rose 0.2% month-over-month in December.
Deliveries of new Boeing jets bounced back in December after a crippling labor strike that slowed production last fall, but the company’s annual deliveries dropped in 2024 to the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dollar fell against the euro but was still hovering near its highest level in more than two years as the first of two inflation readings this week provided little assurance the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates.
The Euro gained 0.5% against the Dollar in the last session. The Ultimate Oscillator’s is giving a negative signal.
Support: 1.0188 | Resistance: 1.0389
U.S. stocks rose modestly in choppy trade as investors gauged inflation data and braced for quarterly earnings reports to justify stock valuations and the strength of the U.S. economy. Stocks received an initial lift after a Labor Department report showed the producer price index rose less than expected in December.
Johnson & Johnson said it would buy neurological drug maker Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion, its biggest deal in more than two years, boosting its presence in the market for brain disease treatments. The deal would help accelerate growth in J&J’s drugs business after the company spun off its consumer health unit in 2023.
U.S. stocks declined to start the week, with the S&P 500 hitting a two-month low as bond yields surged following strong payroll data last week, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve will maintain a hawkish stance through most of the year.
A recent surge in U.S. Treasury yields may gain even more momentum after a strong jobs report reinforced expectations that interest rates will stay high for longer and raised the spectre of benchmark 10-year yields hitting 5% — a level that some fear could rattle broader markets.
