On Wednesday, stock futures rose modestly after a crucial inflation report showed a historic jump but mostly met forecasts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average’s futures increased 144 points. Futures on the S& P 500 increased by 0.5 percent, while Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 0.7 percent.
The developments come after the consumer price index, which measures prices across a wide range of commodities, increased by 7% year over year in December. This is the largest increase since 1982, yet it was in line with economists polled by Dow Jones. The monthly gain was a tad higher than anticipated.
Some economists believe inflation is nearing its peak, so the data will be scrutinized for the longer-term trend.
Though the Consumer Price Index is not the Federal Reserve’s primary inflation indicator, policymakers are keeping an eye on a range of indicators as they begin to tighten the most accommodating policy measures in the bank’s history.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told Senate legislators on Tuesday that interest rates will rise this year, as well as the end of the monthly bond-buying program in March and a decline in asset holdings. Powell said the actions are likely to be needed to keep inflation under control now that the economy has recovered from the pandemic shock.
“At least, for now, the angst surrounding the Fed’s recent hawkish tilt and the potential for higher rates appears to have calmed a tad, leaving investors shopping for opportunities in pockets that suffered the greatest cuts in recent weeks,” Goldman Sachs managing director Chris Hussey wrote in a note.
According to sources who talked with the New York Post, Dish Network’s stock soared 7.4% in premarket trading following word that the business is back in merger talks with DirectTV. Norwegian Cruise Lines rose 1.9 percent, and Hilton Worldwide Holdings rose 1.2 percent, as reopening stocks.
On the negative side, Biogen’s stock dropped nearly 10% after news that Medicare will only cover the cost of the company’s Alzheimer’s medicine Aduhelm in clinical studies for patients with early-stage symptoms.
The market swings followed a Wall Street rally the day before when investors purchased the dip after a five-day sell-off in the S& P 500. The Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily weighted in technology, gained more than 1% for the second day in a row on Tuesday. The S& P 500 gained 0.9 percent, halting a five-day losing streak, while the Dow gained 180 points.
After the Federal Reserve signaled a faster-than-expected tightening pace, technology stocks have suffered a severe sell-off in the new year. Many analysts believe the first interest rate hike will occur in March.
Bond yields stabilized on Tuesday, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to 1.76 percent from 1.8 percent earlier in the week.
Dubai Police has announced the launch of MIND FORCE DXB, Dubai’s first mental health awareness campaign, in collaboration with mental health advocate Chris Haill and strategic partner OMNIA.
Dubai Police and Chris Haill, the operations director, will invite 10-15 companies to become financing partners for MIND FORCE DXB as part of the campaign, which will assist “save lives” across Dubai.
The program will hold events, workshops, presentations, and conversations, as well as seek partnerships with individuals and businesses in Dubai’s healthcare and educational sectors.
MIND FORCE DXB will use this to provide mental health care to people of all ages, genders, and nationalities, assisting them in “preventing folks from reaching the darkest of places in their minds and bodies.”
The campaign will also provide advice and direction to the general public through its collaborations, allowing people to “transform their lives” and ultimately assisting them in returning to work and obtaining financial security.
The effort will “save lives and offer people support when they are at their most vulnerable,” according to Dubai CID, led by Dubai Police’s commander-in-chief Abdullah Al Marri.