{"id":68042,"date":"2024-03-16T18:05:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T01:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drduru.com\/onetwentytwo\/?p=68042"},"modified":"2024-03-18T06:59:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T13:59:05","slug":"curious-break-in-trading-action-the-market-breadth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drduru.com\/onetwentytwo\/2024\/03\/16\/curious-break-in-trading-action-the-market-breadth\/","title":{"rendered":"A Curious Break in the Trading Action – The Market Breadth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stock Market Commentary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A curious break in the trading action unfolded as financial markets wrestled with two “disappointing” inflation reports. Both the CPI (consumer price index)<\/a> and wholesale inflation<\/a> (the producer price index or PPI) came in slightly higher than “expected” (headline and core). The data just tell me expectations are unrealistic or at best imprecise. The antsy anticipation for rate cuts from the Fed feeds into the market’s high expectations. These expectations have fueled a now near 5-month rally. A curious break in inflation’s downtrend forces the bulls to at least take a pause. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bond yields went higher all week with the inflation reports fueling bond selling. On the other hand, the stock market quickly moved on from Tuesday’s CPI report with a rally to new all-time highs. It looked the regular and eerily programmatic march higher for the major indices. Stocks got in sync with bond market worries as Thursday’s reaction created a small pullback in stocks with more follow-through on Friday. Stickier wholesale inflation is troubling since it suggests a longer runway for sticky consumer inflation. Still, the stock market has shown a consistent habit of getting over inflation setbacks and returning its focus to signs of imminent rate cuts. Thus, the coming week’s Federal Reserve meeting is yet one more telling juncture in the market’s obsession with monetary policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n