The US consumer price inflation slowed down in June, with a drop in energy prices and a marginal fall in core CPI. The headline drop in inflation has soothed interest rate hike nerves, with the annual core inflation rate down to 2.6%.
Market Reaction
Futures have wiped out almost all chances of a Federal Reserve rate hike later this month, and Treasury yields fell back sharply. The corporate earnings season also kicked off, with big banks performing well and Goldman Sachs’ stock surging 9%.
However, it was a mixed day in the tech world, with IBM plunging 25% after a big miss and an admission that it had flubbed the switch of business trends from software services to AI data centre buildouts.
World oil prices continued to rise above $85 a barrel, as U.S.-Iran hostilities persisted. China’s second-quarter GDP growth slowed to a below-forecast 4.3%, although June industrial and retail updates were above estimates.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.