U.S. stocks are mixed as investors await inflation data, Fed minutes

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are mixed investors await a report on inflation and the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting.

At 10:30 ET (14:30 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 84 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.2%.

Investors are awaiting key data on consumer prices this week, which could factor into the Fed’s decision making at its next policy meeting in May. 

Tech stocks have helped lift the indexes this year on hopes that the Fed was getting close to pausing its rate hikes, but the mood is shifting. Futures traders are now betting on the Fed to raise interest rates another quarter of a percentage point next month.

Analysts expect Wednesday’s consumer price index to show inflation inching up 5.2% for the year through March after a 6.0% annual rise in February. Core prices, which exclude food and fuel, are seen rising 5.6%, which would be slightly faster than February. The Fed’s meeting minutes are also due out on Wednesday.

This week also brings first-quarter earnings reports from the big banks including JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC). Analysts will be listening to what executives say about credit conditions and consumer behavior.

Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to report a drop of 5.2% in first-quarter profit from last year’s first quarter, as they lower expectations.

Shares of Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) rose 9.2% after Bitcoin shot above $30,000 for the first time in 10 months.

CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) shares rose 8.9% after the used car seller beat profit expectations.

Oil rose. Crude Oil WTI was up 1.2% to $80.71 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude rose 0.8% to $84.86 a barrel. Gold Futures were up 0.7% to $2,017.