Stock Market Update

Equity futures continue to point to a slightly higher opening as the market reacts to the March CPI report while waiting for further updates on the geopolitical front.

Total CPI was up 0.9% month-over-month in March (Briefing.com consensus: 0.7%) following a 0.3% increase in February. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.2% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus: 0.3%) following a 0.2% increase in February.

With these changes, total CPI was up 3.3% year-over-year, versus 2.4% in February, and core CPI was up 2.6% year-over-year, versus 2.5% in February.

The key takeaway from the report is that headline inflation was driven by the index for energy, which rose 10.9% in March, and although core inflation was seemingly subdued in March, the concern is that the energy price shock will bleed through more to core inflation in April.