Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Inflation ran hot in April, with the PCE index hitting its highest level in nearly three years — the first reading under incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. Despite that, equity markets shrugged off the print entirely. The S&P five hundred closed up more than half a percent at seven thousand five hundred sixty-three, with the Nasdaq gaining nearly one percent to close just shy of twenty-six thousand nine hundred eighteen. Traders appear convinced the Fed's hands remain tied, and risk appetite held firm into the close.
Turning to the dollar and rates, the greenback slid off a seven-week high as weaker-than-expected jobless claims and soft capital goods orders reinforced a dovish read on the economy. That combination — hot inflation paired with cooling growth data — puts the Fed in a genuinely uncomfortable spot, caught between price pressure and softening demand.
Meanwhile, oil markets remain unsettled. Crude edged higher after US forces struck Iranian military targets for the second time this week, cooling earlier optimism over a potential peace deal. Analysts are warning that even if hostilities wind down, the structural case for lower oil prices has weakened considerably, and the era of sixty-dollar crude may simply be behind us.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
