US consumer inflation reports were pretty much in line with expectations, and still not going down as fast as the street and central bankers had previously hoped. Headline Consumer Price Index growth (3.7% unchanged vs street 3.6%) remained stubbornly high, while Core CPI (4.1% as expected vs previous 4.3%) improved slightly but still remains relatively high.
In this news, which suggests that central bankers’ fight against inflation is far from over, treasury yields and the US Dollar have climbed while equities and bonds have dropped back. US Index Futures were up 0.4%-0.5% before the inflation news but now are trading flat to down 0.3%.
Today’s earnings reports have been mixed with Delta Air Lines beating previously lowered expectations ($2.03 vs street $1.95, up 3.0% premarket), and Walgreens Boots ($0.67 vs street $0.69) falling slightly short of estimates. The official kickoff to earnings season is tomorrow morning with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, UnitedHealth, Blackrock and others reporting results.
Energy trading is mixed today. Brent Crude Oil is up 1.9% while Natural Gas is down 1.7%. In metals action, Platinum is down 0.6% as US auto strikes expand to more facilities. Copper is flat while Gold is up another 0.4%.