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It’s a big news morning for the stock market, and the major indexes are here for it. As Q4 results for the Big Banks trickle in this morning and Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers affected a big boost to early trading, we continue to see higher gains ahead of the bell at this hour.
The Dow is up +591 points at this moment, with the S&P 500 +86 points and the Nasdaq +368. Ahead of the CPI release, we were at +224 on the Dow, +22 on the S&P and +86 on the Nasdaq. Bond yields have dropped from +4.757% on the 10-year to +4.708%, +4.358% to +4.297% on the 2-year.
CPI Retail Inflation Looks Under Control for December
Headline CPI last month came in slightly warmer than expected — +0.4% from +0.3%, the latter of which was also the unrevised tally the prior month. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI month over month reached +0.3%, in-line with expectations and the November core print.
Year over year headline CPI is what’s known as the Inflation Rate, and for December this came in at +2.9% — as expected, but 20 basis points (bps) hotter than the previous month. Core CPI year over year came in slightly below expectations to +3.2%, 10 bps under the estimate and the November read.
While these numbers ultimately lack a level of glamour, pre-market trading is taking them as a permission to push higher. Just since writing these past couple paragraphs, the Dow is now +682 points, the S&P +93 and the Nasdaq +394 points. They appear to be taking their cue from the bond market, which now sees +4.688% on the 10-year — almost 10 bps lower than mere minutes ago — and +4.285% on the 2-year.
Call this a relief rally, as market indexes had struggled since the initial trading days of 2025. This important CPI report shows inflation muted and tepid, if still ultimately present. The economy, as we’ve seen in other metrics, remains strong — but not so strong as to show a rekindling of inflation to harmful levels. In short, today’s report gives the market some near-term direction.
Empire State Falls Back to Negative
After two months in positive territory, the Empire State manufacturing survey has sunk back into the red for January: -12.6, from an expected +1.0. The previous month was revised up from +0.2 originally reported to +2.1 on the revision, with a strong +31.2 reported back in November. Before this, we hadn’t seen a positive figure on goods-producing in New York State for two full years.
Big Banks Mostly Positive in Q4
The unofficial start to earnings season these days is when the big Wall Street banks start reporting. (We’ve already seen results for consequential companies like Delta, Nike and FedEx, among others, but play along.)
JPMorgan Chase (JPM - Free Report) showed the biggest jump above estimates this morning, with earnings of $4.81 per share outpacing the $4.03 anticipated — to a record-high profit for the biggest of the big banks. Revenues of $47.77 billion topped the Zacks consensus by +4.43%. Shares are up marginally on the news, adding to the +3.2% gains so far, year to date. For more on JPM’s earnings, click here. Check out the updated Zacks Earnings Calendar here.
Citigroup (C - Free Report) saw the highest year-over-year estimates of all the big banks this morning, and still beat expectations. Earnings of $1.34 per share bettered the Zacks consensus by 7 cents, while revenues of $19.6 billion came in ahead of the $19.55 billion analysts were looking for. Full-year earnings and revenues both reached higher levels than expected, and shares are up +4.6% in today’s pre-market.
Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) is the third big bank to report Q4 numbers this morning, beating estimates on the bottom line by 8 cents to $1.42 per share, for year-over-year earnings growth of +6%. Revenues, however, came in slightly below expectations: $20.38 billion versus $20.55 billion. Strong guidance is propelling shares higher in early trading by +5%. For more on WFC’s earnings, click here.
Image: Bigstock
Pre-Markets Up Huge on CPI, Q4 Bank Numbers
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
It’s a big news morning for the stock market, and the major indexes are here for it. As Q4 results for the Big Banks trickle in this morning and Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers affected a big boost to early trading, we continue to see higher gains ahead of the bell at this hour.
The Dow is up +591 points at this moment, with the S&P 500 +86 points and the Nasdaq +368. Ahead of the CPI release, we were at +224 on the Dow, +22 on the S&P and +86 on the Nasdaq. Bond yields have dropped from +4.757% on the 10-year to +4.708%, +4.358% to +4.297% on the 2-year.
CPI Retail Inflation Looks Under Control for December
Headline CPI last month came in slightly warmer than expected — +0.4% from +0.3%, the latter of which was also the unrevised tally the prior month. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI month over month reached +0.3%, in-line with expectations and the November core print.
Year over year headline CPI is what’s known as the Inflation Rate, and for December this came in at +2.9% — as expected, but 20 basis points (bps) hotter than the previous month. Core CPI year over year came in slightly below expectations to +3.2%, 10 bps under the estimate and the November read.
While these numbers ultimately lack a level of glamour, pre-market trading is taking them as a permission to push higher. Just since writing these past couple paragraphs, the Dow is now +682 points, the S&P +93 and the Nasdaq +394 points. They appear to be taking their cue from the bond market, which now sees +4.688% on the 10-year — almost 10 bps lower than mere minutes ago — and +4.285% on the 2-year.
Call this a relief rally, as market indexes had struggled since the initial trading days of 2025. This important CPI report shows inflation muted and tepid, if still ultimately present. The economy, as we’ve seen in other metrics, remains strong — but not so strong as to show a rekindling of inflation to harmful levels. In short, today’s report gives the market some near-term direction.
Empire State Falls Back to Negative
After two months in positive territory, the Empire State manufacturing survey has sunk back into the red for January: -12.6, from an expected +1.0. The previous month was revised up from +0.2 originally reported to +2.1 on the revision, with a strong +31.2 reported back in November. Before this, we hadn’t seen a positive figure on goods-producing in New York State for two full years.
Big Banks Mostly Positive in Q4
The unofficial start to earnings season these days is when the big Wall Street banks start reporting. (We’ve already seen results for consequential companies like Delta, Nike and FedEx, among others, but play along.)
JPMorgan Chase (JPM - Free Report) showed the biggest jump above estimates this morning, with earnings of $4.81 per share outpacing the $4.03 anticipated — to a record-high profit for the biggest of the big banks. Revenues of $47.77 billion topped the Zacks consensus by +4.43%. Shares are up marginally on the news, adding to the +3.2% gains so far, year to date. For more on JPM’s earnings, click here.
Check out the updated Zacks Earnings Calendar here.
Citigroup (C - Free Report) saw the highest year-over-year estimates of all the big banks this morning, and still beat expectations. Earnings of $1.34 per share bettered the Zacks consensus by 7 cents, while revenues of $19.6 billion came in ahead of the $19.55 billion analysts were looking for. Full-year earnings and revenues both reached higher levels than expected, and shares are up +4.6% in today’s pre-market.
Wells Fargo (WFC - Free Report) is the third big bank to report Q4 numbers this morning, beating estimates on the bottom line by 8 cents to $1.42 per share, for year-over-year earnings growth of +6%. Revenues, however, came in slightly below expectations: $20.38 billion versus $20.55 billion. Strong guidance is propelling shares higher in early trading by +5%. For more on WFC’s earnings, click here.
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