Dow went up 217 but below early highs, advancers over decliners 5-2 & NAZ gained 88.  The MLP index crawled up to the 236s & the REIT index added 1+ to the 374s.  Junk bond funds edged higher & Treasuries had limited buying, lowering yields (more below).  Oil slid back to the 83s & gold was off 1 to 1949.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

Americans not out of the woods yet as inflation creeps back up

Federal deficit more than doubled to $1.6T in the first 10 months of FY2023

Treasury yields moved broadly lower as the Jul consumer price index report provided another encouraging sign that inflation is abating.  The 10-year Treasury yield was down 2 basis points to 3.984% & the 2-year Treasury yield fell 3 basis points to 4.768%.  Yields move opposite of prices & a basis point is equal to 0.01%.  The CPI report showed that prices rose 3.2% year over year, a tick below the 3.3% forecast.  The 0.2% month-over-month change in prices was in line with estimates.  Shelter inflation, which is seen by many economists as lagged data that will fall sharply in the coming months, was the biggest contributor to the increase, the Labor Dept said.  Markets are largely betting the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady at its next meeting on Sep 20.  But some people, including Federal Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bowman, believe the current hiking cycle may not be over yet.

Treasury yields slide after July CPI report 

The market response to today's news was muted.  Stocks jumped on the CPI news but has lost about ½ that gain already.  Higher interest rates will be a drag on any market advance & comments by Fitch on its downgrade for US rating is a large cloud hanging over the stock market.

Dow Jones Industrials