Stocks were shaky to start the week, with the main indexes spending the majority of Monday in negative territory. Investors are on edge ahead of tomorrow morning's release of the February Consumer Price Index (CPI), especially after recent hotter-than-anticipated inflation readings pushed back expectations for the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate cut.
The February CPI "should alleviate concerns that inflation is reaccelerating after the January data," writes Stephen Juneau, economist at BofA Securities, in a note to clients.
Juneau expects the headline CPI to rise 0.4% month-over-month – quicker than January's 0.3% increase – due to rising gas prices. But core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is believed to be up 0.3% from January to February, below the prior month's 0.4% reading.
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.
But tomorrow's CPI reading is not the only inflation update on this week's economic calendar. Indeed, the latest retail sales data and the Producer Price Index (PPI) will both be released Thursday morning.
This onslaught of data comes ahead of next week's Fed meeting. According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, futures traders are currently pricing in a 55% chance of the first quarter-point rate cut occurring in June, up from 42% one month ago.
Snap, Meta tumble after Trump talks TikTok
In single-stock news, social media stocks Snap (SNAP, -4.2%) and Meta Platforms (META, -4.4%) sold off after former President Donald Trump seemingly reversed his stance on China-based short-form video platform TikTok.
Speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Trump, who tried unsuccessfully to ban TikTok in 2020, said he still believes the app is a national security threat, but without it "you can make Facebook [which is owned by Meta Platforms] bigger and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people along with a lot of the media."
Trump's comments come as the U.S. House of Representatives is expected this week to vote on a bill that will give TikTok's parent company ByteDance six months to divest the platform or face a complete ban. Lawmakers are concerned that China is using TikTok is gather data on its users, though ByteDance has denied the accusations.
MicroStrategy pops as Bitcoin soars
Elsewhere, MicroStrategy (MSTR) shot up 4.1% after the software company said it bought 12,000 bitcoins in the two weeks ended March 10. MSTR now owns roughly 205,000 bitcoins. Bitcoin, for its part, traded above the $72,000 level for the first time ever.
As for the main indexes, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% to 16,019 and the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 5,117. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, edged up 0.1% to 38,769 as UnitedHealth Group (UNH) popped 2.7%. At roughly $490 a share, UNH has the greatest weighting of all 30 stocks in the price-weighted Dow.
Related content
- Biden Calls for Doubling Capital Gains Tax
- If You'd Put $1,000 Into Adobe Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
- The Reddit IPO Is Almost Here: Should You Buy Reddit Stock?
-
13 Things Medicare Gives You for FreeMedicare beneficiaries often pay monthly premiums, copays, annual deductibles and prescription drug costs. But what you may not know is that some services don’t cost anything at all.
-
Trump Buyout Offer Paused by Judge as Deadline Loomed: What Workers Need to KnowLaw & Politics The federal deferred resignation program accepted by thousands of workers continues to cause confusion and concern. Now the courts are involved.
-
Trump's Sovereign Wealth Fund: What Is It And How Does It Work?President Trump signed an executive order that puts in motion plans for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. Here's what a sovereign wealth fund is and how it works.
-
Honeywell Stock Is at the Bottom Of the Dow After Split NewsHoneywell is the worst Dow Jones stock Thursday as the industrial conglomerate's weak outlook offsets news that it is splitting into three separate companies.
-
Roblox Stock Plunges After Bookings, Users Fall Short of ExpectationsRoblox stock is down Thursday after the gaming company came up short on key metrics for its fourth quarter. Here's what you need to know.
-
Eli Lilly Stock Rises After Profit, Outlook Top ExpectationsEli Lilly stock is higher Thursday after the pharma giant beat fourth-quarter profit expectations and issued strong 2025 guidance. Here's what you need to know.
-
Qualcomm Stock Drops After Its Earnings Beat. Here's WhyQualcomm stock is lower Thursday even after the chipmaker reported strong earnings and gave an encouraging outlook. This is what investors need to know.
-
The Best ROI? Investing in Yourself This YearIf personal growth is something you invest in only after taking care of all other priorities, it's time to turn that mindset on its head. Here's how to start.
-
The Four Worst Mistakes to Make When Selling Your BusinessFrom ignoring potential buyers to failing to consider what you'll do once you've stopped working, here are the key mistakes to avoid when selling a business.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Waver as Big Tech Slumps on Spending ConcernsMarkets seesawed amid worries over massive costs for artificial intelligence and mixed economic news.
