STORY: Monday brought more record high closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, as investors awaited fresh inflation data, comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the start of quarterly earnings season.
The Dow dipped marginally, while the S&P 500 gained a tenth of a percent and the Nasdaq added almost three-tenths.
Traders will closely monitor Powell’s semiannual testimony before Congress starting Tuesday and then scrutinize consumer price data due on Thursday for clues on the timing of possible interest-rate cuts.
Ben McMillan, cofounder and chief investment officer at IDX Advisors, said that cracks in the latest labor market data may mean the Fed has to cut rates sooner than later to avoid a potential economic downturn.
“This is where the balancing act for the Fed starts to get really tricky in terms of, how quickly, if at all, do we see the data deteriorate? You know, it hasn’t started to yet, but it’s showing signs that it…
