Wall Street Stocks Lacked Direction Ahead of Inflation Reports

Barry Adams
11 Apr, 2023
New York City

Stocks lacked direction in early trading on Wall Street and investors awaited inflation data. 

Consumer price index is scheduled to be released Wednesday and Producer price index on Thursday. 

Investors are hoping that the recent trading in cooling inflation will be confirmed in the fresh inflation data. 

Economists are anticipating consumer price inflation to cool to 5.2% on an annual basis from 6.0% in February but core inflation is expected to accelerate to 5.6% from 5.5% in the previous month.  

Markets also worried that the simmering tensions in the Taiwan Strait may raise supply chain issues anew. 

Just days earlier China had stepped its military exercise surrounding Taiwan and accelerated its cyberattack on Taiwan's utilities and telecom companies.

The U.S. and Philippines are holding their largest joint military exercises a day after China concluded its large-scale defense drills surrounding Taiwan.

Bank of Korea held its key lending rate as expected but China's inflation unexpectedly declined despite the pick up in economic activities.

China's annual inflation declined to 0.7% in March compared to 1.0% in February, according to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics of China.  

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.7% from a year ago in March after a 0.6% increase in February.

The Japanese yen declined after the recently appointed governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated the central bank's commitment in maintaining its ultra-loose policy for now. 

 

Indexes & Yields 

The S&P 500 index  decreased 1.31 points to 4,107.80  and the Nasdaq Composite index 29.31 points or 0.3% to 12,055.03. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes inched higher to 4.02%, 10-year Treasury notes to 3.43% and 30-year Treasury bonds to 3.63%. 

Crude oil inched higher to 52 cents to $80.27 a barrel and natural gas edged lower 3 cents to $2.13 a thermal unit. 

 

Stock Movers 

Apple Inc decreased 0.5% to $161.26 and the maker of popular mobile gadgets said it plans to open two new retail stores in India this month. 

Apple has been diversifying away its manufacturing base from China and plans to accelerate its production and sale in India this year. 

Apple is scheduled to open its first store in Mumbai on April 18 and in Delhi on April 20. 

Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class A increased 0.5% to $478,539.0 and the company's co-founder and chairman Warren Buffett increased the company's stake in Japanese trading houses to 7.4%, according to CNBC. 

Itochu Corp, Marubeni Corp, Sumitomo Corp, Mitsui Corp and Mitsubishi Corp gained between 2% and 3% in Tokyo trading, after Warren Buffett confirmed his plans to meet management in an interview with Nikkei News.