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Indexes fell Thursday as investors digested warmer-than-expected inflation data.
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Meanwhile, the number of unemployment claims rose by 33,000 to 258,000, the highest number in more than a year.
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Traders see the latest data strengthening the chances of a 25 basis point rate cut next month.
US stock prices fell on Thursday after investors received slightly better-than-expected inflation data following last week’s blockbuster jobs report.
The Consumer Price Index showed prices rose 2.4% year-on-year in September, just above consensus forecasts of a 2.3% increase.
The core CPI reading, which excludes food and energy costs, came in at 3.3% year-on-year, slightly above forecasts of 3.2% and 0.3% higher than in August.
Analysts are now shifting their expectations for further easing from the Federal Reserve as inflation cools a little more slowly than expected and last week’s blockbuster jobs report showed a hot economy with 254,000 additional jobs added last month.
The jobs report dashed hopes for another 50 basis point cut, but the slight upside surprise in the CPI is unlikely to be enough to put a full pause on Fed easing.
“There is only one more set of inflation reports between now and then, and even a solid upside surprise could be discounted as normal monthly volatility on the path back to the 2% target,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note Friday after the jobs report. .
Investors now see a 25 basis point rate cut at the central bank meeting next month as more likely than leaving rates unchanged, the report said. CME FedWatch tool.
Weekly unemployment claims, meanwhile, rose by 33,000 to 258,000, according to Labor Department figures released Thursday.
That surpassed forecasts of 230,000 and marks the data point’s highest level in more than a year.
Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday:
Here’s what else happened on Thursday:
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FEMA was already strapped for cash before Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through the South.
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The top strategist at JPMorgan, one of Wall Street’s biggest bears, is optimistic about the stock market for the first time in two years.
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Billionaire investor Bill Gross recommends defensive and high-yield stocks as the market’s all-time high is set to slow.
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
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Oil futures rose. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $74.23 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.34% to $77.62 per barrel.
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Gold rose 0.36% to $2,635.6 an ounce.
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The interest rate on ten-year government bonds remained virtually stable at 4.08%.
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Bitcoin slowly fell to $63,126.50.
Read the original article on Business Insider
