Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Stocks are pushing higher today despite a hotter-than-expected inflation print, and the driver is crude. Lower oil prices gave investors enough cover to look past the August CPI data, which showed inflation remaining stubbornly elevated largely on the back of energy costs tied to the Iran conflict. The S and P five hundred is up nearly nine-tenths of a percent, the Dow gaining close to one percent, with futures extending those gains.
That inflation report is worth sitting with for a moment. August headline numbers came in high, with energy the primary culprit, and that keeps the Federal Reserve in a difficult position — but traders appear to be betting that falling oil today softens the path forward, at least at the margin.
Meanwhile, eyes are turning toward Tokyo. The Bank of Japan meets next week, and analysts are warning that U-S equity investors may be underestimating the potential for a policy surprise. A rate move from the B-O-J could ripple through currency markets and rattle the carry trade, the same dynamic that spooked global markets earlier this cycle.
And on the individual name side, Zumiez is getting punished — shares falling seventeen percent after the action sports retailer missed Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines in its second quarter. A tough read on the discretionary consumer.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
