Market Outlook ahead of Wednesday CPI Meeting

The Consumer Price Index for March is due for today at 8:30 am. The stock market is prepping to open right into the middle of what is sure to be a closely watched meeting.

Recent economic indicators show that inflation is getting worse instead of better. Investors are worried that this is part of a larger trend and not just a fluke. The CPI data will help to provide a better indication of where inflation is headed.

Inflation has climbed higher than expected over the last two months, and it may do so again for March. If so, that would be a blow to the stock market, which has been stepping carefully ahead of the CPI data.

All three major stock indexes changed only slightly from Monday to Tuesday, closing out on Tuesday at the end of trading almost flat. The Dow Jones closed with a decrease of 0.02%. The S&P 500 closed up 0.14%, and the Nasdaq Composite closed with an increase of 0.32%.

Expected Stock Movement

We do not expect to see the CPI data to move the major gainers from the market, like Selina Hospitality Inc, which rose 92% on Tuesday. It is more likely to affect mid-level movers that saw progress this week, like Moderna, which climbed 6.19%, and FMC Corp, which gained 6%.

Some of the biggest stocks moved very little on Tuesday, showing signs of trepidation as the market waits to see the upcoming data and where inflation is headed. Microsoft moved only slightly, with a 0.4% increase. Similarly, Walt Disney Co. moved up just 0.3%. The Walt Disney stock in particular has had a good year, surging after a quarterly report showed incredible earnings and a positive outlook for the remainder of the year.

We could see some of these stocks shift tremendously as the inflation data gets out and has an impact on the market.