The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants

By Staff Reporters

***

***

Off-the-charts inflation may be a distant 2022 phenomenon, but we’re not entirely over it. Price growth is still not back to levels that would satisfy Jerome Powell, and shoppers continue to deal with the fallout. Prices grew faster than economists expected last month, according to the consumer price index data the government released yesterday.

They climbed 0.3% in January (slightly more than in December) and 3.1% from a year prior. Excluding food and energy prices, January’s inflation was 0.4%, a bit over December’s reading, and 3.9% more than the prior January. And we point out that things aren’t so bad, since inflation isn’t too far from the Fed’s 2% annual target. But shoppers might argue that just because prices are growing more slowly doesn’t mean things are costing them less.

Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:

• The S&P 500^® index (SPX) fell 68.67 points (1.4%) to 4,953.17, its lowest close since February 5; the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 524.63 points (1.4%) to 38,272.75; the NASDAQ Composite^® (COMP) dropped 286.94 points (1.8%) to 15,655.60.
• The 10-year Treasury note yield gained nearly 15 basis points to 4.316%.
• The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) rose 1.89 to 15.82.

Bank shares were among the worst performers Tuesday amid concerns the CPI numbers suggested the Fed will maintain a higher-for-longer interest rate tack that could crimp lenders’ margins. The KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) plunged 4.5%. Small-cap stocks, another group sensitive to interest rates, also fell sharply, with the Russell 2000^® Index (RUT) sinking 4%.

In other markets, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rallied about 0.7% to its strongest level in nearly three months, reflecting expectations interest rates will remain elevated.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Thank You

***

***

Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", Breaking News, Experts Invited, Financial Planning, Investing | Tagged: banks, CBOE, COMP, DJIA, DXY, fed, Federal Reserve, FOMC, inflation, IRS, Jerome Powell, KBW, KRX, NASDAQ, S&P 500, VIX |