Market Retreats On Inflation, Economic Reports.
The Weekly Update
Week of February 19th, 2024
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®
Stocks fell last week as investors reacted to disappointing inflation updates and other economic reports that fell short of estimates.
Stocks Snap Winning Streak
Markets were quiet Monday but opened lower Tuesday in response to the January inflation report that showed higher-than-expected consumer prices. But stocks regained some momentum on Wednesday and rallied Thursday despite disappointing reports on both retail sales and industrial production for January.
News of higher-than-expected wholesale prices on Friday put investors back on edge and kept stocks from ending the week on a positive note. The weekly loss broke a five-week winning streak.
Inflated Perspective
Consumer Price Index data was one of the big pieces of news driving markets last week, with January’s numbers coming in at 3.1 percent compared to a year prior—cooler than December’s 3.4 percent year-over-year gain but warmer than the 2.9 percent consensus. Jittery …