Reuters / Lucas Jackson
- US stocks traded mixed on Monday as investors look ahead to the October consumer price index.
- Inflation is expected to have slowed to 3.3% year over year, down from 3.7% in September.
- Investors are eyeing the possibility of at least one more interest rate hike from the Fed this cycle.
US stocks traded mixed on Monday as investors turned their attention to the coming October inflation report.
The consumer price index report will roll out Tuesday morning, a key data point for the Federal Reserve to determine its next policy move. Cleveland Fed economists expect headline inflation to have cooled to 3.28% on an annual basis, down from the 3.7% clip reported in September.
Markets have raised their expectations for at least one more interest rate hike before the Fed dials back tighter financial conditions, as central bankers say there's more work needed to bring down inflation, which remains above the 2% goal.
Investors are now pricing in a 27% chance interest rates could rise another 25 basis points by January, up from 15% last week, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:
- S&P 500: 4,411.55, down 0.08%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,337.87, up 0.16% (54.77 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,767.74, down 0.22%
Here's what else happened today:
- Markets are headed for a decade of austerity as the "game of macroeconomic musical chairs" will stop, according to an investment chief.
- Storm clouds are forming over the corporate sector amid higher debt costs and tumbling earnings growth.
- Forget the budget deficit. These are bigger drivers of Treasury yields, according to one market expert.
- Investors have plowed $1 billion into crypto funds this year, the third-highest inflow on record.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 1.67% to $78.46 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, ticked higher 1.5% to $82.68 a barrel.
- Gold rose 0.6% to $1,949.90 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield was nearly flat at 4.632%.
- Bitcoin fell 1% to $36,763.