Signs of cooling inflation fueled a rally across a range of markets toward the end of last year, with investors piling into everything from Treasurys to stocks to low-rated corporate debt.
Thursday’s data was not quite as encouraging as some other recent reports. But interest-rate futures were still showing that investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in March.
In afternoon market action:
Stocks fell slightly. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite turned negative after opening higher, but were paring some of their losses in afternoon trading.
Microsoft passed Apple as the most valuable U.S. company. Its market value recently stood at about $2.9 trillion, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Treasury yields were choppy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note drifted lower overnight, climbed after the CPI report and was a bit below 4% in recent trading, down from 4.029% late Wednesday.
Bitcoin was volatile after the Securities and Exchange Commission cleared the way yesterday for the first U.S. exchange-traded funds that hold the cryptocurrency to be sold to the public. The digital currency climbed above $48,000, then retreated. See the bitcoin ETFs and their tickers here.
Oil prices rose. Front-month U.S. crude gave up some early gains but was still up roughly 1% to around $72 a barrel.
