Stocks rise on busy week of inflation data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as investors braced for a busy week of inflation data as investors neared the end of the earnings season.

Despite moderate losses on Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% after the benchmark index posted three straight weeks of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 180 points, or 0.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.

Moves come after stocks Finished mixing In Friday’s session, the U.S. economy added more than twice as many jobs as expected in July. Department of Labor said Nonfarm payrolls rose 528,000 last monthRenewal concerns may prompt the Federal Reserve to pursue aggressive interest rate hikes to reduce demand and lower inflation.

Economists at Bank of America, led by Michael, said, “This reduces the risk of a near-term recession, but, in our view, the strong data means that the risk of a hard landing over time increases.” Gabon said in a note Friday.

The bank also revised upwards its forecasts for a rate hike of 25 basis points, calling for 50 basis points in both September and November and 25 basis points in December.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 25: People walk outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 25, 2022 in New York City. Stocks were slightly higher in morning trade as investors weighed the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Investors are focused on three major inflation gauges this week: the all-important Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Producer Price Index (PPI), and Unit Labor Costs, a measure of all wages paid to employees.

The closely watched CPI index for July due out on Wednesday is expected to moderate slightly from last month’s reading, mainly helped by lower gas prices. However, the figure is expected to see inflation climb to its fastest pace in four decades.

Economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast a broad measure of CPI rising 8.7% in July, a slight cooling from 9.1% in June. During the month, CPI is expected to show an increase of 0.2%, up from 1.3% last month.

Earnings season is winding down with about 87% of companies in the S&P 500 reporting year-to-date actual results for the second quarter. But with returns from names including Disney, there are still big announcements to be made (DIS), Coinbase (currency), Tyson Foods (D.S.N), and Rivian Automotive (RIVN) tap this week.

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Alexandra Semenova is a Yahoo Finance reporter. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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