The latest news on inflation has economists and investors on edge as the consumer price index showed a slight easing in April. Mark Hamrick, senior economist at Bankrate, described the current inflation levels as “irritatingly high,” with a year-over-year increase of 3.4% in headline inflation and 3.6% in core inflation. Despite the welcome relief from March’s high readings, interest rates are expected to remain elevated in the near term.
Meanwhile, clean energy stocks have rallied this week, with some stocks seeing significant gains without any company-specific news. Pavel Molchanov, stock analyst at Raymond James, stated that the rally was not a reaction to U.S. tariffs on China and was more of a meme stock rally. SunPower, a residential solar company, saw strong gains in the clean tech space.
In other news, the S&P 500 reached a new high after taking only 48 days to do so, compared to the 746 days it took previously. Capital Economics researchers predict that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates in September based on the recent inflation data. Additionally, consumer discretionary stocks lagged in Wednesday’s session, with companies like Hasbro leading the sector lower.
Overall, the market is reacting positively to the latest inflation data, with experts like Scott Helfstein of Global X stating that the current inflation readings are not worrisome. However, some caution that the Federal Reserve is not out of the woods yet and may need more weak inflation prints before considering rate cuts. Despite the mixed reactions, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq opened at new all-time highs, signaling optimism in the market.
