Stocks are little changed to start the week as traders look ahead to CPI data: Live updates
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on June 23, 2025 in New York City.
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U.S. stocks were little changed early Monday, with the market once again on the cusp of all-time highs ahead of a week of key inflation reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 147 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 was flat, while the Nasdaq Composite traded 0.1% higher.
Inflation readings this week will prove a key hurdle for a broad market index near record highs. The consumer price index, which is set to be released Tuesday, and the producer price index, due out Thursday, will be critical in shaping the outlook for the direction of interest rates, especially for the Federal Reserve’s September meeting. Hotter inflation prints could hinder the market’s advance.
“The most important thing is the CPI data,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “That will definitely dictate monetary policy.”
The inflation data comes ahead of the Fed’s Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming on Aug. 21-23, which could set the tone for the September meeting. While the market is now pricing in an 87% chance of a rate cut next month, CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall told CNBC that investors may be getting ahead of themselves.
“I’m getting a little concerned that the market is going to end up being disappointed,” the chief investment strategist said. “The Fed will have a conundrum to deal with if inflation remains sticky and if the consumer remains willing to spend — where is the need to cut rates?”
The Nasdaq ended last week at fresh closing highs, and the S&P 500 closed on the threshold of another milestone. The Dow also finished the week on a high note.
“Wall Street is probably breathing a sigh of relief, because we did have a nice bounce back last week from the sell-off experience the week before as a result of that very disappointing employment report,” Stovall said.
Still, the latest advance has some investors wondering how much longer the stock market can skirt pitfalls, given sky-high valuations, a dimming macroeconomic outlook and tariff fallout all during a period of seasonal weakness.
“We are probably going to be more in a digestion phase than anything else,” Woods said. He added, “We may get a little bit of sideways action in this market, which is not a bad thing.”
