Stock market today: US stocks go nowhere ahead of CPI data

Original Article:

Source: Link

US stocks closed mixed after a bouncy (and uneventful) trading session on Tuesday. The moves come as investors bide their time until a key inflation report lands and potentially sheds light on the path of interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hugged the flatline while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) edged up about 0.3%. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed more than 0.1%. Stocks have become marooned ahead of the release of the Consumer Price Index on Wednesday, seen as a pivotal point for a market facing a slower next leg higher after a strong first quarter. Investors have become increasingly less convinced the Federal Reserve will deliver on the three rate cuts it has projected for this year, given the persistent show of strength in the US economy. That has intensified the focus on the CPI print for March, and any sign that inflation has begun to cool again will be seen as an invitation for a June policy shift. Meanwhile, fading rate-cut hopes have helped push up the 10-year Treasury (^TNX) yield near five-month highs — another potential headwind for stocks, with the 5% level seen as the key point of concern. The benchmark yield slipped Tuesday to trade around 4.37%. At the same time, rising metals prices have sparked concerns about a feed-through effect on inflation. Copper (HG=F), a key industrial input, rose about 0.5%, adding to a 10% year to date gain that has prompted talk of a new bull market. Gold (GC=F) touched above $2,380 an ounce, extending its rally to hit another fresh record. Another catalyst on the horizon is the start of first quarter earnings season, which gets underway in earnest on Friday with results from the likes of Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM), and Wells Fargo (WFC).