Nov 13 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 closed Monday’s session slightly lower as investors held their breath before a crucial inflation reading that could provide clues as to how long the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated.
After the indexes enjoyed a solid rally on Friday, the market turned its focus on Monday to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, due out Tuesday morning. Economists expect a headline increase of 3.3% for October, easing from 3.7% in September. But core prices are expected to be unchanged from the previous month.
The CPI reading, along with labor market, “are clearly in the driver’s seat for what matters to financial markets, because it dictates where Fed policy goes from here,” said Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“The market has the expectation the Fed is done with interest rate hikes and for that to be true, you need to have continued progress on the inflation front,” along with labor market cooling, he said.
Traders have priced in a nearly 86% chance the Fed holds interest rates steady in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
While the CPI reading was the key issue keeping investors “in a holding pattern” on Monday, Michael O’Rourke, chief market…
