Key points:
- S&P 500 makes it across
- PPI inflation comes in hot
- Dip buyers swoop in again
It was a hot inflation report that had traders heading for the exits. Shortly after, however, they came back asking for more of those risk assets.
📈 Saving That Streak
- The S&P 500 (SPX) eked out a tiny 0.03% gain to 6,468.54, just enough to keep its winning streak alive — the third straight record close and the 18th all-time high of the year. Not bad for a day that looked doomed by lunch.
- The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.01% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points, both staging a near-even recovery after being hit hard in the morning.
- At session lows, the 30-stock Dow was lower by more than 200 points while its two heavyweight peers were off by 0.4%. That’s before buyers with deep pockets — and perhaps deeper confidence — flooded back in.
😨 PPI Jumpscare
- July’s Producer Price Index USPPI surged 0.9% month-on-month — more than 4x what Wall Street expected (0.2%) — snapping June’s flat reading and swapping rate-cut dreams with nightmare fuel.
- The hotter print signals inflationary pressures are alive and kicking in the wholesale pipeline, with sectors like manufacturing and services still pushing costs up.
- With the PPI often a leading indicator for consumer prices, traders are now rethinking how much of a “sure thing” a September Fed cut really is — the odds are still decent, but the conviction took a hit.
💸 Dip Buyers Flex (Again)
- And yet, optimism prevailed once again. The late-session reversal was powered by aggressive buying in cyclicals and megacaps, the kind of “don’t fight the tape” rally pros have seen all year.
- Dip-buying has become the default playbook in this market, helped by strong earnings, a still-resilient economy, and massive liquidity flows. A market can’t even fall properly these days.
- And there you have it — three straight wins for the S&P 500 despite a macro headwind this big. Judging by the broad reaction, traders are still more scared of missing the rally than they are of inflation.
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