Preview -- Barron's

Thursday 1/11

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for December. Consensus estimate is for the CPI to increase 3.2% year over year, one-tenth of a percentage point more than in November. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 3.8%, compared with a 4% gain previously. The annualized change in the CPI is near its lowest level since March of 2021, which Wall Street thinks will allow the Federal Open Market Committee to start cutting the federal-funds rate as soon as March.

Friday 1/12

Fourth-quarter earnings season begins in earnest with the four largest U.S. banks by assets announcing results. Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo all report before the opening bell. Shares of JPMorgan were the best performer of the group last year, returning 30.6%, the only one of the four to outpace the S&P 500 index's 26.3% return. Bank of America stock trailed, partially on concerns over unrealized losses on its large bond portfolio.

The BLS releases the producer price index for December. Economists forecast a 1.3% year-over-year rise in the PPI, and a 1.9% increase for the core PPI. This compares with gains of 0.9% and 2.0%, respectively, in November.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2024 18:00 ET (23:00 GMT)

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