Wall Street pushed higher Monday as markets absorbed more corporate earnings and potential ramifications following a shooting at a weekend rally for former President Donald Trump, according to the Associated Press.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.5% before the bell and futures for Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%.
At the Economic Club of Washington on Monday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will make his first public comments since last week’s inflation data showed that consumer prices eased for the second straight month in June. Powell is expected to address questions about the U.S. and global economies and the data the central bank has been tracking in its effort to tame inflation.
Investors and economists will be parsing Powell’s words for hints of when the Fed might start cutting rates. Most experts believe a September cut is more likely than one at the Fed’s next meeting later this month.
Friday’s update on U.S. inflation said prices rose more at the wholesale level last month than economists expected, which was a letdown after data a day earlier said inflation at the consumer level was better than expected.
It’s the second straight month such expectations have eased, helping to calm worries about a potential spiral where expectations for high inflation could drive U.S. consumers toward behavior that would push inflation even higher. That in turn could give the Federal Reserve more of the evidence of slowing inflation that it says it needs to begin cutting its main interest rate, which is at its highest level in more than two decades.
