It's make-or-break time for stocks with inflation defining a crucial few weeks, Bernstein strategist says

• Stocks started 2023 on a tear but gave up some of those gains last week.
• Tuesday's inflation report marks the start of a crucial five-week stretch, according to Bernstein's Matthew Palazzolo.
• Investors are about to learn “whether the rally will sustain or we’ll give some of this back,” he told Insider.

Investors should get ready for a crucial period that'll determine whether stocks' start-of-2023 rally carries on or fizzles out, according to a top strategist at Bernstein Private Wealth Management.

Tuesday's Consumer Price Index report – which will show the rate at which US prices rose at in January – marks the start of a make-or-break stretch for equities, Matthew Palazzolo said in an interview last week.