Stock Market Today: Markets Rally Ahead of Key Inflation Report
Stocks kicked off a pivotal week on an upbeat note, boosted by some blue-chip mergers and acquisitions news and a buoyant reading on consumer expectations.
Mostly though, Monday was a “wait and see” session. After all, tomorrow’s critical lecture on inflation (opens in new tab) and an interest rate (opens in new tab) Announcement from the Federal Reserve later this week will certainly determine where stocks go next.
The best Dow dividend stocks (opens in new tab) never go out of style, and on Monday two of them contributed to a big day for M&A news. Amgen (AMGN (opens in new tab)), which deserves a place in just about any portfolio of top biotech stocks (opens in new tab)entered into an agreement to buy Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP (opens in new tab)) for $28.3 billion, including debt. The largest healthcare deal of 2022 gives Amgen control of Horizon’s treatments for rare autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including Tepezza, a giant drug for thyroid eye disease.
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Meanwhile, Dow stocks Microsoft (MSFT (opens in new tab)), which is frequently considered a top stock pick for billionaires (opens in new tab) and hedge funds, entered into a 10-year partnership agreement London Stock Exchange Group (LNSTY (opens in new tab)). The cloud computing (opens in new tab) giant, which acquired a 4% stake in the exchange operator, will provide LSE with next-generation infrastructure, data and analytics.
In economic news, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (opens in new tab) showed that regular people feel better about both the future path of inflation and income growth. Consumers’ expectations for inflation over the next one, three and five years have declined sharply, the NY Fed reported. At the same time, expectations for income growth hit a series high.
At the end of the day, markets finished the session with broad-based gains. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average Added 1.6% to end at 34,004, while the broader S&P 500 closed up 1.4% to 3,990. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Gained 1.3% to reach 11,143.
November’s inflation report: What to expect
All eyes are on the last inflation (opens in new tab) 2022 report, expected to be released before Tuesday’s opening bell — and just a day before the Federal Reserve’s final interest rate (opens in new tab) decision of the year.
A nasty upside surprise in CPI can complicates the central bank’s calculation (opens in new tab)and even sending stocks into a tizzy (opens in new tab). To get an idea of what the experts are thinking about tomorrow’s inflation report, check out what economists, strategists and other market pros have to say about the pending CPI pressure (opens in new tab).
