Bonds & Stocks
US stock futures extended gains after Thursday’s data drop cemented bets on prospective interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index advanced over 1%, after Wednesday’s bout of selling knocked it off record highs. Contracts on the S&P 500 rose 0.8%. Treasury yields turned lower with the rate on the 10-year at 3.83%.
Economy
The US inflation outlook was already steadily improving in recent months, but last week, right in the middle of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, the dam finally broke. Monthly reports on consumer and producer prices published on the mornings of Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 indicated inflation over the last six months — as measured by the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — has likely returned to the central bank’s 2% target on an annualized basis.
World
General Charles Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs, spoke with his Chinese counterpart for the first time in a call that the Biden administration billed as a further sign that ties between the two countries’ militaries may be getting back to normal. The Defense Department said that the video call between Brown and Liu Zhenli, held Thursday morning Washington time, included discussion of working together to avoid miscalculations and maintaining open lines of communication.