Daily Times

Wall Street appears ready to add to a rally last week ignited by data hinting at slowing U.S. wage gains, one of the goals of the Federal Reserve in its efforts to cool decades-high inflation. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials rose 0.3% while the S&P 500 rose 0.5%. On Friday, the four major U.S. indexes rose more than 2% after the government’s jobs report showed that wages nationwide rose 4.6% in December from a year earlier in the smallest increase since two summers ago. Economists had expected wage gains to pick up. At the same time, the report showed that hiring across the job market remains very strong. Amid the ups and downs, “investors may continue to embrace weak data, especially if signs of descending wage inflation continue,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management. “Any indications in the data that the Fed could tap the brakes on its monetary tightening cycle could boost calls for a softer landing that may be optimal for equities.” The Fed has pulled its key overnight rate up to a range of 4.25% to 4.50% after it began last year at virtually zero. With inflation showing some signs of cooling in recent months, it trimmed its latest rate increase to 0.50 percentage points after four straight hikes of 0.75 points. Markets appear to be pricing in a more traditional hike of 0.25 points from the Fed at its meeting next month.