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The stock market had a strong showing on Thursday that returned the major averages to record territory, and the market is eager to continue rising today with futures on the S&P 500 trading 0.6% above fair value.

Investors have had to contend with a dearth of economic data from the government due to the ongoing shutdown, but they finally received the delayed September CPI report this morning.

According to that report, total CPI was up 0.3% month-over-month in September (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) following a 0.4% increase in August. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy was up 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) after rising 0.3% in August. On a year-over-year basis, total CPI was up 3.0% versus 2.9% in August, while core CPI was also up 3.0%, versus 3.1% in August. These readings remain above the Fed's 2.0% PCE inflation target.

The key takeaway from the report is that CPI and Core CPI were both cooler than expected, which will keep the market thinking that the FOMC will announce a 25-basis point rate cut at the conclusion of next week's policy meeting and should not upset expectations for another cut in December.

Treasuries responded with a quick recovery of their modest starting losses with shorter tenors leading the way. The 2-yr yield is down three basis points at 3.45% while the 10-yr yield is down two basis points at 3.97%.

Corporate earnings that have come in since yesterday's close included bottom-line beats from Intel (INTC 40.20, +2.04, +5.35%), Ford (F 12.77, +0.43, +3.49%), Procter & Gamble (PG 156.61, +5.46, +3.61%), and HCA (HCA 459.30, +19.14, +4.35%).

On a side note, President Trump is expected to meet with China's President Xi on October 30, right before the November 1 deadline for implementing a tariff hike brought on by Chinese restrictions on rare earth element exports.