Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Monday, thereby building a foundation on which to extend their seven-week winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the benchmark S&P 500 both rose by 0.2% each.
Markets have become increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve will introduce interest rate cuts early next year as data shows that inflation continues to cool. Still, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned investors on Sunday that it’s still premature to declare victory in the fight against inflation, adding that discussions regarding rate cuts remain “premature”.
Friday marks the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index; the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. This index will help to adjust market expectations ahead of the Fed’s policy decisions next year. Analysts are largely expecting the index to show that prices continued to slow in November.