S&P 500 slips, after rising briefly above record close, on CPI data
By Caroline Valetkevitch and Marc Jones
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global stock indexes were lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down after briefly rising above its record closing high, while the dollar hit a one-month high against the yen as investors digested data showing that U.S. consumer price inflation came in above economists' expectations in December.
Investors also were focused on crypto markets after U.S. regulators late on Wednesday approved the first U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds to track bitcoin, a big step for the cryptocurrency world. Several ETFs tied to the spot price of bitcoin began trading in the U.S. on Thursday.
The day's data showed headline CPI rose 0.3% last month, for an annual gain of 3.4%. That was expected to be 0.2% and 3.2%, respectively.
The consumer price index data raised some doubts that the Federal Reserve will cut rates as soon as some traders expect.
The odds of a March rate reduction from the Fed fell to 65% from 67% on Wednesday, according to the CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch Tool.
Some investors said the data does not mean there's a resurgence in inflation.
«This is not pernicious, it's not a bad number… This is not a signal of a resurgence of inflation. All it's saying is that inflation has come down,» said Thierry Wizman, global FX and interest rate strategists in Macquarie, New York.
«So, bottom line, this is not dangerous, the Fed will still be easing. It may not start in May or June, but it will happen.»
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 194.5 points, or 0.52%, to 37,501.23, the S&P 500 lost 20.06 points, or 0.42%, to 4,763.39 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 62.48 points, or 0.42%, to 14,907.17.
The benchmark S&P 500 briefly surpassed its record closing high
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