Stocks are steady after the BLS posted a 3.1% CPI increase in November. This widely matched expectations. The shelter index rose by 0.4%. Prices for rent (+0.5%), owners’ equivalent rent, medical care (+0.6%), and motor vehicle insurance (+19.2%) increased.
The drop in apparel prices by -1.3% may hurt Macy’s (M), which fell by 4.33%. Citi cut the stock to a “sell” as it doubts the $21 buyout offer will close. Starboard and Hudson’s Bay are the other firms that took this path before.
Johnson Controls (JCI), an HVAC equipment, industrial refrigerator, and building automation supplier, posted earnings and revenue that missed expectations. JCI is -5.9%.
Dry bulk shippers Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) and Eagle Bulk Shipping (EGLE) plan to merge at a market capitalization of over $2 billion. EGLE stock rose 10.4%.
Covid vaccine giant Moderna (MRNA) announced that its Chief Commercial Officer, Arpa Garay, will leave in a few months. CEO Stephane Bancel will assume the sales and marketing activities in 2024. Investors should avoid or bet against MRNA stock. Markets expect vaccine sales to continue falling. MRNA stock lost 4.5%, trading at $78.32.
Oracle fell by 10.0% after posting disappointing results.
Among the most actively traded stocks today, Lucid (LCID) lost 9.13% to trade at $4.19 after its impending removal on the Nasdaq 100. China EV firm Nio (NIO) lost 4.30% to trade at $7.35.
Looking ahead, the stock market's December direction will depend on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Q&A session tomorrow. Other than high automotive insurance inflation in the CPI report, the market does not have much inflationary data as a reason to sell stocks.
