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Stock market today: S&P 500, Dow waver near records ahead of key inflation data

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1 year ago

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Stock market today: S&P 500, Dow waver near records ahead of key inflation data

US stocks paused near record highs on Wednesday as investors digested fresh data that showed inflation made little progress toward the Fed’s 2% target in October.

After clinching record highs on Tuesday, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.1% at the open while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose less than 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was down about 0.5%.

The mood is muted in the wind-down to the Thanksgiving holiday, which will see markets shut on Thursday and close early on Friday. But the Fed is taking the fore again after being eclipsed somewhat by the debate over the impact of Donald Trump’s tariff plans and Cabinet choices.

The latest reading of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed price increases were flat in October from the prior month, raising questions over whether progress in getting to the central bank’s 2% goal has stalled.

The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out food and energy costs and is closely watched by the central bank, rose 0.3% from the prior month during October, in line with Wall Street’s expectations for 0.3% and the reading from September. Over the prior year, core prices rose 2.8%, in line with Wall Street’s expectations and above the 2.7% seen in September.

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Traders currently see a roughly 34% chance the Fed holds rates steady at that meeting, up from roughly 24% a month before, per the CME FedWatch Tool.

Also out Wednesday, the second estimate of third quarter GDP was unchanged, showing the US economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the period. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims continued to move lower with 213,000 unemployment claims filed in the week ending Nov. 23, down from 215,000 the week prior.

Trump on Tuesday tapped Jamieson Greer — a veteran of his first term — as US trade representative. Given Greer was heavily involved in Trump’s original China tariffs, Wall Street is assessing what his role could mean for the big new tariffs promised for the US’s top trading partners.

On the corporate front, Dell (DELL) shares sank over 10% after quarterly revenue fell short amid flagging PC demand. Peer HP’s (HPQ) stock also fell post-earnings, down 8%.

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  • Key inflation gauge shows price increases stayed flat from prior month

    The latest reading of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed price increases were flat in October from the prior month, raising questions over whether progress in getting to the central bank’s 2% goal has stalled.

    The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out food and energy costs and is closely watched by the central bank, rose 0.3% from the prior month during October, in line with Wall Street’s expectations for 0.3% and the reading from September.

    Over the prior year, core prices rose 2.8%, in line with Wall Street’s expectations and above the 2.7% seen in September. On a yearly basis, overall PCE increased 2.3%, a pickup from the 2.1% seen in September.

    Read more here.

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  • Josh Schafer

    JPMorgan issues S&P target of 6,500 for 2025 as ‘US exceptionalism’ rolls on

    Another Wall Street strategist sees a solid backdrop for the US economy and a broadening corporate earnings picture driving stocks higher in the year ahead.

    JPMorgan’s global equity strategy team led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas sees the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hitting 6,500 by the end of 2025, joining the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who issued the same target. The target represents about an 8% increase from current levels.

    Lakos-Bujas wrote that continued “US exceptionalism,” continued earnings growth, and interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve will be a tailwind for stocks in the year ahead. He argued the US is likely to remain the “global growth engine with the business cycle in expansion, healthy labor market, broadening of AI-related capital spending, and prospect of robust capital market and deal activity.”

    He added, “heightened geopolitical uncertainty and the evolving policy agenda are introducing unusual complexity to the outlook, but opportunities are likely to outweigh risks. The benefit of deregulation and a more business-friendly environment are likely underestimated along with potential for unlocking productivity gains and capital deployment.”

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  • Josh Schafer

    Stocks waver ahead of inflation print

    US stocks paused near record highs on Wednesday as investors waited for a reading on the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge to provide clues to the path of interest rates.

    After clinching record highs on Tuesday, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.2% at the open while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was down about 0.3%.

    The October print of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, is due for release on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. ET. The focus is on whether inflation has stalled.

    Economists expect annual “core” PCE — which excludes food and energy — to have clocked in at 2.8% in October, up from the 2.7% seen in September.

  • Josh Schafer

    Weekly jobless claims fall, GDP steady

    Weekly jobless claims rose less than expected last week, and hit a seven-month low, as the impact of labor strikes and severe weather continued to abate.

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    New data from the Department of Labor showed 213,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending Nov. 23, down from the 215,000 the week prior and below the 215,000 economists had expected.

    Meanwhile, the number of continuing applications for unemployment benefits hit 1.9 million, up 9,000 from the week prior and the highest level since November 2021.

    Elsewhere in economic data, the second estimate of third quarter GDP came in unchanged, once again showing the US economy grew at annualized rate of 2.8%.

  • Jenny McCall

    Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.

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  • Brian Sozzi

    About those potential Trump tariffs

    Shares of automakers General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) were throttled on Tuesday following Trump’s tariff threats toward China, Mexico, and Canada.

    GM lost 9%, while Ford dropped 3% as both companies have a strong presence in Mexico.

    But automakers aren’t the only companies that stand to be hurt by tariffs, of course.

    Think computers and T-shirts!

    Here’s what HP Inc. (HPQ) CEO Enrique Lores and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) CEO Fran Horowitz told me on the tariff topic.

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    Enrique Lores

    “Some of that [cost of potential tariffs] will have to go to consumers given what is the overall margin that we have in the categories. But again, we need to wait and see what the final tariffs are for us to define what the exact plan is going to be.”

    Fran Horowitz

    “When we understand truly what’s happening, we will have to make some adjustments, and we will adjust accordingly,It’s exactly what we did in 2018 when we had the same challenge. In 2024 we will not be receiving more than 5% or 6% of our US receipts from China. We’re taking a look at it country by country, but the agility that we’ve built into our supply chain is really what’s going to help us manage through this.”

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Baker McKenzie Welcomes Finance & Projects Principal Matthias Schemuth in Singapore | Newsroom | Baker McKenzie

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6 hours ago

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December 14, 2025

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Baker McKenzie Welcomes Finance & Projects Principal Matthias Schemuth in Singapore | Newsroom | Baker McKenzie

Baker McKenzie today announced that leading project finance lawyer Matthias Schemuth has joined the Firm’s Singapore office* as a Principal and Asia Pacific Co-Head of Projects in its Finance & Projects practice, alongside Partner Jon Ornolffson in Tokyo.

Matthias joins the Firm from DLA Piper, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors across Asia Pacific. He advises sponsors, developers, commercial banks, multilateral lending agencies, and export credit agencies on the structuring and financing of large-scale projects. His practice also spans international banking, structured commodity and trade finance, with a strong focus on emerging markets. Matthias has been consistently recognised by Chambers Asia Pacific and Who’s Who Legal as a leading project finance practitioner.

James Huang, Managing Principal of Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow in Singapore, said: “We are excited to welcome Matthias to our team. His expertise and proven record in managing teams will be invaluable as we expand our regional and global finance offerings for clients.”

Emmanuel Hadjidakis, Asia Pacific Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Banking & Finance Practice, commented: “Asia Pacific is seeing strong momentum in infrastructure development, energy transition investments, and cross-border project financing, much of it centred in Singapore. Having Matthias on board will further enhance our ability to help clients seize opportunities in the region’s evolving energy and infrastructure markets.”

Steven Sieker, Baker McKenzie’s Asia Chief Executive, added: “Matthias’s appointment underscores Baker McKenzie’s continued commitment to investing in exceptional talent across key markets to support our clients in navigating today’s increasingly complex business and regulatory environment.”

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Matthias said: “I’m thrilled to join Baker McKenzie and contribute to its strong growth in Asia Pacific. The Firm’s global reach and local depth provide an unparalleled platform for delivering innovative projects and financing solutions to clients in this dynamic region.”

With more than 2,700 deal practitioners in more than 40 jurisdictions, Baker McKenzie is a transactional powerhouse. The Firm excels in complex, cross-border transactions; over 65% of our deals are multijurisdictional. The teams are a hybrid of ‘local’ and ‘global’, combining money-market sophistication with local excellence. The Firm’s Banking & Finance lawyers are ranked in more jurisdictions than any other firm by Chambers.  

Matthias’s hire continues the expansion of Baker McKenzie’s global team. His joining follows the recent arrivals of Carole Turcotte in Toronto; Tom Oslovar in Palo Alto; Jenny Liu in New York and Palo Alto; Helen Johnson, Mark Thompson, Nick Benson, Kevin Heverin, James Wyatt and Michal Berkner in London; Jan Schubert in Frankfurt; Todd Beauchamp and Charles Weinstein in Washington DC; Dan Ouyang, Winfield Lau, and Ke (Ronnie) Li in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; and Alexander Stathopoulos in Singapore.

*Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow is the member firm of Baker McKenzie in Singapore

 

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Finance

3 finance stocks to buy on rising 10-year Treasury rates

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December 14, 2025

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3 finance stocks to buy on rising 10-year Treasury rates
The Federal Reserve gave investors an early Christmas present by lowering interest rates by 25 basis points (i.e., 0.25%) marking its third rate cut this year. In the past, a change like this in the “long end” of the interest rate yield curve has triggered a predictable, investable pattern. Typically, this pattern would be bearish for finance stocks, particularly banks—investors would buy bank stocks when rates rose and sell them as rates fell….
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Finance

Reservists’ families protest outside Finance Minister’s home

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1 day ago

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December 13, 2025

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Reservists’ families protest outside Finance Minister’s home

Dozens of protesters from the “Religious Zionist Reservists Forum” and the “Shared Service Forum” demonstrated Saturday evening outside the home of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Kedumim.

The protesters arrived with a direct and pointed message, centered on a symbolic “draft order,” calling on Smotrich to “enlist” on behalf of the State of Israel and oppose what they termed the “sham law” being advanced by MK Boaz Bismuth and the Knesset’s haredi parties.

Among the protesters in Kedumim were the parents of Sergeant First Class (res.) Amichai Oster, who fell in battle in Gaza. Amichai grew up in Karnei Shomron and studied at the Shavei Hevron yeshiva.

Protesters held signs reading: “Smotrich, enlist for us,” along with the symbolic “draft order,” calling on him to “enlist for the sake of the State’s security and to save the people’s army – stand against the bill proposed by Bismuth and the haredim!”

Parallel demonstrations were held outside the homes of MK Ohad Tal in Efrat and MK Michal Woldiger in Givat Shmuel.

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Representatives of the “Shared Service Forum” said: “We are members of the public that contributes the most, and we came here to say: Bezalel, without enlistment there will be no victory and no security. Do not abandon our values for the sake of the coalition. The exemption law is a strategic threat, and you bear the responsibility to stop it and lead a real, fair draft plan for a country in which we are all partners. It’s in your hands.”

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