The CPI Just Confused the Stock Market

Tuesday morning showed investors how the stock market can whiplash back and forth. After having gained ground in early morning futures trading, major benchmarks fell when the regular trading session started, only to turn around and climb within the first hour. By 10:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was back down by 0.3%, and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) had dropped 0.1%.

The big news on Tuesday was on the macroeconomic front, as the latest reading on inflation came courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. Although the headline number was higher than some had expected, the overall trend in year-over-year inflation remained downward, and that seemed to give investors more optimism about the future.

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Source Fool.com