U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Tamer-Than-Expected CPI Data

Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a slightly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.1 percent.The futures had been pointing to continued weakness on Wall Street but regained ground following the release of the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in the month of January.The report showed consumer prices rose by slightly less than expected on a monthly basis, while the annual rate of growth slowed by more than anticipated.The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in January after climbing by 0.3 percent in December. Economists had expected prices to rise by another 0.3 percent.The annual rate of growth by consumer prices slowed to 2.4 percent in January from 2.7 percent in December, coming in below estimates of 2.5 percent.Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, increased by 0.3 percent in January after rising by 0.2 percent in December, matching expectations.The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices dipped to 2.5 percent in January from 2.6 percent in December, which was also in line with estimates.The tamer-than-expected headline inflation data may lead to renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates."This print strengthens the case that the Federal Reserve can maintain a gradual easing bias without fearing renewed inflation pressure," said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.She added, "Importantly, while the labor market remains resilient, today's CPI reduces the risk that strong employment data forces the Fed into a hawkish rethink."After ending Wednesday's choppy trading session modestly lower, stocks showed a more substantial move to the downside during trading on Thursday. The major averages once again failed to sustain an early upward move and pulled sharply as the day progressed.The major averages saw further downside going into the end of the day, closing near their lows of the session. The Nasdaq plunged 469.32 points or 2.0 percent to 22,597.15, the S&P 500 tumbled 108.71 points or 1.6 percent to 6,832.76 and the Dow slumped 669.42 points or 1.3 percent to 49,451.98.In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index tumbled by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dove by 1.7 percent.Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.15 to $62.99 a barrel after plunging $1.79 to $62.84 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $150.10 to $4,948.40 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $60.90 to $5,009.30 an ounce.On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.15 yen versus the 152.73 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1864 compared to yesterday's $1.1869. For comments and feedback contact: [email protected] News