Stocks Little Changed Despite a Fed-Friendly US Core CPI Report

Economic Indicators - October new home sales are expected to decline by -10.6% month-over-month to 715,000 units [1] - November PPI final demand is projected to rise by +2.7% year-over-year, with core PPI also expected to increase by +2.7% year-over-year [1] - December existing home sales are anticipated to increase by +2.2% month-over-month to 4.22 million [1] - Weekly initial unemployment claims are expected to rise by +7,000 to 215,000 [1] - January Empire manufacturing survey is expected to improve by +4.9 to 1.0 [1] - December manufacturing production is forecasted to decrease by -0.1% month-over-month [1] Stock Market Movements - Credit card companies are experiencing declines, with Visa down more than -3% and Mastercard down more than -2% following President Trump's comments on interest rate caps [3][12] - Energy-producing stocks are rising, with WTI crude oil increasing over 1% to a 1.75-month high due to geopolitical risks [4] - The S&P 500 Index is down -0.02%, while the Nasdaq 100 Index is up +0.09% [6] - Mining stocks are gaining, with Hecla Mining up more than +3% and Barrick Mining up more than +2% due to rising silver prices [11] Earnings and Forecasts - Q4 earnings growth for S&P companies is expected to rise by +8.4%, with a +4.6% increase excluding the Magnificent Seven tech stocks [7] - Option Care Health's stock is up more than +9% after a positive EBITDA growth forecast for 2026 [12] - Revvity's preliminary Q4 revenue of $772 million exceeds the consensus of $756.9 million, leading to a stock increase of more than +9% [13] - Cardinal Health raised its full-year adjusted EPS forecast to at least $10.00, stronger than the consensus of $9.83, resulting in a stock increase of more than +3% [14] International Markets - The Euro Stoxx 50 reached a new record high, up +0.41%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock 225 closed up sharply by +3.10% [8]