Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Higher Ahead of Inflation Week
Bulls regained control ahead of next Tuesday's release of the October CPI report.


Stocks opened higher Friday and continued to climb into the close, putting the lid on another strong week for the U.S. equities market. Today's upside came even as data showed consumer sentiment fell as inflation expectations climbed.
Shortly after the open, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index fell for a fourth straight month in November, slipping to 60.4 from October's reading of 63.8.
"While current and expected personal finances both improved modestly this month, the long-run economic outlook slid 12%, in part due to growing concerns about the negative effects of high interest rates," the report stated. Both year-ahead and long-term inflation expectations rose in November too.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Inflation was top of mind during Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Thursday, where he said the central bank is "not confident" interest rates are high enough to bring inflation down to its 2% target. This sent stocks tumbling and had the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite snapping their longest daily win streaks in two years.
Stocks rebounded today, though. At the close, the S&P 500 was up 1.6% at 4,415, the Nasdaq was 2.1% higher at 13,798, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 1.2% to 34,283. All three indexes closed higher on the week, as well.
Plug Power spirals amid "unprecedented supply challenges"
The Nasdaq outperformed even as several tech stocks tumbled after earnings. Plug Power (PLUG), for one, plunged 40.5% after the fuel-cell maker reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss. Revenue of $199 million also fell short. In addition, Plug Power pulled its full-year guidance, citing "unprecedented supply challenges" in the North American hydrogen network.
"After 13 consecutive quarterly misses on adjusted earnings per share, we are struggling to find a positive catalyst, given the excessive cash burn rate and the importance of raising capital (in a challenging capital market environment) to fund its growth prospects," says CFRA Research analyst Matthew Miller, who downgraded PLUG to Sell from Hold.
Trade Desk (TTD) was another big post-earnings loser, slumping 16.7% after its results. While the digital ad company reported third-quarter earnings of 33 cents per share on $493 million in revenue – both figures higher than analysts were expecting – fourth-quarter guidance came in well below estimates.
The company told CNBC that the "transitory cautiousness from advertisers in certain verticals, such as U.S. auto and media/entertainment due to the strikes" was the reason for the weak outlook.
Cisco earnings, CPI, PPI on deck
Next week, Cisco Systems (CSCO, +1.1%) is the most notable tech name on the earnings calendar, with the networking equipment specialist set to report after Wednesday's close.
As for economic news, all eyes will be on next week's inflation data. The October Consumer Price Index (CPI) report will be released Tuesday morning, while the Producer Price Index (PPI) is due out Wednesday.
Related content

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is an investing editor and options expert at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Ford Recalls 45,000 Cars Over Faulty Door Latches
The Ford recall follows its 2020 recall for the same issue. Here's what to know.
By Jamie Feldman Published
-
Scammers Are Pretending to Be From Your Utility Company. Here's How To Shut Them Down
With scams in the utility sector on the rise during cold winter months, companies are spreading the word for customers to be on the lookout for fraudsters.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Higher After Powell Speech
Fed Chair Powell poured cold water on potential rate cuts, but stocks jumped anyway.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Jumps 520 Points After Salesforce Earnings
The enterprise network software firm reported impressive Q3 results, sending the blue chip stock soaring.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Give Back GDP Gains After Beige Book
The latest GDP report showed the U.S. economy grew at a rapid-fire rate in the third quarter, but the Fed's Beige Book sparked concerns.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Struggle for Direction After Mixed Fed Messages
E-commerce platform PDD Holdings jumped after earnings, while rival Shein reportedly filed confidential IPO paperwork.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Lower on Cyber Monday
The main indexes were choppy to start the week, though several e-commerce stocks jumped on encouraging online holiday shopping numbers.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Keep Their Weekly Win Streak Alive
The main indexes closed mixed Friday, though all three nabbed a fourth straight weekly gain.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Resume Their Winning Ways
The major benchmarks rebounded from a rare down session to post broad-based gains Wednesday.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Lower After Fed Minutes, Retail Earnings
Burlington was a big winner on the earnings front, while Kohl's slumped after its results.
By Karee Venema Published