An initial bump for stocks on Thursday was wearing thin in early-afternoon trading as investors focused on how long inflationary pressures might keep the Federal Reserve from cutting rates. 'The market was prepared for PCE to be worse, and it wasn't, so you got this bit of a relief rally,' said Crit Thomas, global market strategist at Touchstone Investments. 'But that's pulled back a bit.
Thomas said the reading echoed an earlier consumer-price index update that rattled Wall Street by showing continued strong consumer demand for services, which prompted traders to dial back their expectations for early rate cuts this year. 'It still leaves us a bit in the dark in terms of what's happening going forward,' he said.