US stocks nudge higher with Fed speakers, inflation in focus

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US stocks rose slightly on Monday, coming off a winning week on Wall Street, as investors looked ahead to Federal Reserve speakers and a key inflation reading for clues to the odds of another big rate cut.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was trading up 0.1%, hovering above Friday’s record close for the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added roughly 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed 0.4%.

The market is laboring with concerns about the health of the US economy, which have persisted after the Fed’s bold pivot to cutting interest rates last week. The big question now is whether upcoming data releases this week will support Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s assertion that conditions remain strong.

Much will depend on Friday’s reading on the PCE index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — and Thursday’s second quarter GDP print. Experts believe that cooling inflation, not a rising risk of recession, will give policymakers the green light for another 0.5% cut this year.

Investors received more policy insight from Fed officials on Monday morning. Raphael Bostic and Neel Kashkari explained why they were in favor of reducing interest rates by a jumbo 50 basis points instead of a smaller first cut, citing progress on inflation and a cooling job market.

Given the rare lack of unanimity in the last decision, remarks from Powell and dissenting Fed governor Michelle Bowman later in the week are likely to be closely scrutinized.

On the corporate front, Intel (INTC) shares jumped after Apollo Global Management reportedly offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in the struggling chipmaker — a vote of confidence in its turnaround strategy. Intel stock spiked at the end of last week amid a report Qualcomm (QCOM) was exploring a takeover.

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