US stocks moved higher on Monday as investors turn their attention to upcoming inflation data and whether that will impact the trajectory of the Federal Reserve's current interest rate trajectory.
July CPI data will be released later this week on Thursday. That, combined with the August jobs report and the August CPI report will inform the Fed as to whether they hike interest rates again at their September FOMC meeting. A recent sAccording to the CME FedWatch Tool, the Fed is expected to keep the Fed Funds Rate at its current range of 5.25% to 5.50% until March 2024, when the central bank is expected to slightly cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Investors are also digesting second-quarter earnings results, which have mostly beat earnings estimates. With 85% of S&P 500 companies having already reported results, 81% are beating profit estimates by a median of 7%, while 64% are beating revenue estimates by a median of 3%, according to data from Fundstrat.