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Investing.com — Stocks seesawed on Thursday but were heading into the final minutes of trading in the green despite renewed worries about interest rates.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise rates another quarter of a percentage point when it meets in March. Officials have been talking about the need to raise the rate above 5% and keep it there longer to tame persistent inflation, something that was confirmed in the minutes of their last meeting. But some officials wanted to move even more aggressively.
Now markets believe there will be another quarter-point increase in May and possibly in June, pushing the terminal rate to 5.2% or above. Investors are wondering how long the Fed will keep rates at that elevated level, and that concern is what has weighed on growth stocks in recent days.
On Friday, fresh data could give the Fed more ammunition to continue with its rate hiking. The core personal consumption index, which the Fed uses to measure inflation, is expected out Friday morning.
Next week brings more data on the housing market as well as manufacturing and services sectors, still more evidence the Fed will use to determine its next step.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. Core PCE data
The Core PCE reading for January is due out tomorrow at 8:30 ET (13:30 GMT). Analysts are expecting it to rise 0.4% from the prior month and 4.3% for the year through January. The monthly reading would be a tick up from December, while the annual reading would be a tick lower. Personal income is expected to rise 1%, and personal spending is expected to rise 1.3%. Both would be up from December.
2. Michigan sentiment
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment reading for February is due out at 10:00 ET. Analysts expect it to say 66.4, the same as last time.
3. Cinemark earnings
The movie theater chain Cinemark Holdings Inc (NYSE:CNK) is expected to report a loss per share of 24 cents on revenue of $602.3 million.
