Stocks shot higher out of the gate Thursday as investors cheered the latest inflation data. However, the enthusiasm faded as the session wore on as market participants parsed some concerning jobs data, with the main benchmarks finishing far from where they started.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.2% month-over-month and 3.2% year-over-year – the latter a slight uptick over the 3.0% annual increase seen in June. Meanwhile, core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and is often a better tell on future inflation, rose 0.2% on a monthly basis. Year-over-year, core CPI was up 4.7%, below June's 4.8% increase. Areas that saw the biggest price increases were shelter and food.
