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Friday the 13th didn’t spook investors with U.S. stocks little changed on the day as investors bided time until the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.The broad S&P 500 index dipped 0.16 point, or essentially stayed flat, to close Friday at 6,051.09. For the week, it slipped 0.6% to snap a three-week winning streak.The blue-chip Dow eased 0.2% or 86 points, to 43,828.06 for a seventh straight day of losses, the longest losing streak since 2020. It ended the week 1.8% lower, for the largest weekly decline since October and the second consecutive week of losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed Friday up 0.12%, or 23.88 points, at 19,926.72, off its record high 20,061.65 reached earlier in the week. For the week, the Nasdaq gained 0.3%.The Fed’s last policy meeting of the year ends on Wednesday. While the CME Fed Watch tool shows the markets see a 97% chance for a quarter-point trim in the short-term benchmark fed funds rate, to between 4.25% and 4.5%, the rate outlook next year is murkier.Holiday deals: Shop this season’s top products and sales curated by our editors.Markets currently expect a pause in January, the CME Fed Watch tool shows, after warmer-than-expected inflation data this week ignited some caution, economists said.“Improvements in inflation appear to have stalled,” wrote KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk in a report.What is inflation doing?Annual consumer inflation increased for the second straight month, up 2.7% in November and the largest jump since July. Core inflation that excludes the volatile food and energy sectors was flat at 3.3%. Both remain above the Fed’s 2% inflation goal.Further warning signs on inflation are seen in wholesale prices, or prices paid by companies. Annual wholesale prices last month climbed 3% and gained 3.5% excluding energy and food. They were both the highest levels since February 2023.Treasury yields on the riseU.S. government debt yields rose for a fifth straight session to reach the highest levels in the past few weeks on signs inflation remains a problem for the Fed, economists said.The benchmark 10-year yield climbed to more than 4.4%, an …
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