The market’s doing the airplane-waiting thing
U.S. stocks spent Monday basically hovering in the terminal, and yes, the boarding pass is inflation. The Dow slipped more than 50 points as crude oil climbed and Treasury yields pushed to their highest level this month, while traders kept one eye on Wednesday’s CPI report and Thursday’s PPI data.
Why investors care
This is the part where the market pretends it’s calm, but really it’s clutching a coffee and refreshing the Fed calendar. If oil starts bleeding into core inflation, rate-cut hopes get a lot less cute. And when yields rise, the valuation math for growth stocks gets a little less generous.
A few names in the mix
The day also had a handful of earnings-driven side quests:
- National Energy Services Reunited (NESR) jumped after better-than-expected quarterly results.
- Monday.com (MNDY) fell after second-quarter results and soft third-quarter sales guidance.
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Cardinal Health (CAH), and Aramark (ARMK) were on deck for earnings later in the day.
Meanwhile, the CNN Fear & Greed index stayed parked in the “Greed” zone, which is a funny way of saying the market is still feeling itself — just with one eyebrow raised.
Big picture: this week’s inflation numbers could decide whether the rally keeps cruising or hits a speed bump. The stocks on your watchlist may be company-specific, but the mood? That’s all macro.