By US stocks edged higher on Friday after Producer Price Index data for September came in lower than expected, signaling a continued cooling of wholesale inflation.
The producer price index was flat month-over-month, below economist estimates of a 0.1% rise. Meanwhile, Core PPI rose 0.1% in September, compared to an expected rise of 0.2%.
TradeStation strategist David Russell told Business Insider the data supports another interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
“CPI might have seemed hot, but PPI was not. Overall, these numbers are getting less impactful as inflation moderates. The Fed could still be on track for 25 basis points at the next two meetings. Yields have surged lately, but it’s not clear they have much more reason for continued upside,” Russell said.
Investors are also digesting earnings results from JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and BlackRock. All three stocks moved higher after the results, which beat analyst estimates on most fronts.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon praised his bank’s performance in the earnings release, but warned that geopolitical conditions are “treacherous and getting worse.”
Apart from earnings results, retail sales data, set to be released on October 17, is the next big data release for investors to watch.
Bank of America analysts expect September retail sales data to show a 0.8% surge, while consensus estimates expect just 0.2% growth.
Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:
- S&P 500: 5,785.90, up 1.25%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 42,617.12, up 0.38% (+163 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 18,219.70, down 0.34%
Here’s what else is going on:
- Tesla unveiled its robotaxi in an event Thursday night, but Wall Street isn’t impressed.
- A Chinese automaker has taken over Russian plants abandoned by Volkswagen and Mercedes.
- Russia’s ruble hit its lowest level in a year against the dollar and the yuan.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.69% to $75.33 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 0.69% to $78.85 a barrel.
- Gold was up 0.97% to $2,664.90 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield was higher by 3 basis points at 4.101%.
- Bitcoin was higher by 1.78% to $61,351.
