Investing.com — The S&P 500 continued its record rally on Monday, closing at an all-time high for the fourth consecutive day amid caution ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony this week and key inflation data.
As of 4pm ET (20:00 GMT), the S&P 500 was up 0.06% to hit a new closing record at 5,570.73, while the FTSE was up 0.2% to hit a new closing record, while the S&P 500 was down 31 points, or 0.1%.
Powell to testify, CPI data coming soon
President Trump is scheduled to testify before the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, with much of his testimony expected to focus on monetary policy.
Powell suggested last week that the Fed was making some progress in taming inflation but that policymakers weren’t yet confident enough to start cutting rates, a view further strengthened by the minutes of the Fed’s June meeting.
Weaker-than-expected labor data released last week stoked hopes that the job market is cooling, giving momentum for the Fed to start cutting interest rates.
But inflation is likely to be a key consideration for the central bank as it cuts interest rates. Inflation is expected to rise 0.1% month-on-month and 3.1% year-on-year when it is released on Thursday. Core CPI is expected to rise 0.2%.
Traders are thought to be seeing more than a 72% chance of a 25 basis point cut in September, up from 57.9% last week.
Second-quarter earnings reports begin this week
Besides interest rate forecasts, the focus this week will be on second-quarter earnings season, which is set to kick off on Friday with a flurry of big banks releasing their results.
The market will be watching to see how well corporate earnings hold up under the pressure of high interest rates and persistently high inflation.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: Wells Fargo (NYSE:) and Citigroup (NYSE:) is scheduled to report earnings on Friday.
PepsiCo (NASDAQ:) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:) also saw their numbers fall this week.
Paramount agrees to merge with Skydance; Boeing pleads guilty; Corning scores windfall
Meanwhile, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:) shares fell 5% after Skydance Media agreed to a merger with the entertainment giant, ending months of speculation.
Boeing (NYSE:) shares closed just above flat after the aircraft maker agreed to plead guilty to fraud conspiracy charges to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into two fatal 737 MAX crashes.
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:) said it expects second-quarter core sales of $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion and adjusted earnings per share to be slightly above the high end of its guidance range of $0.42 to $0.46, sending the company’s shares up 12% to a new 52-week high.
(Peter Nurse and Amber Warrick contributed to this article)
