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Luke Kawa

Stocks rise after core inflation rises by less than feared in December

SPDR S&P 500 ETF erased premarket losses to jump higher after core CPI inflation rose 0.2% month on month in December, slightly less than analysts had forecast.

Economists anticipated that headline and core CPI inflation (the latter of which strips out food and energy prices) would be up 0.3% month on month. Headline CPI did indeed rise 0.3% for the month.

The pricing of event contracts for December CPI implied that traders expected headline inflation to be up 0.3% month on month, with higher odds of a reading coming in above than below.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

The November CPI report showed that core inflation had cooled by much more than expected, with the annual rate decelerating to a 4.5-year low. However, that reading was flattered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ decision to assume housing-centric components were flat in October.

Annual core CPI inflation held steady at 2.6% in December, having been projected to tick up to 2.7%.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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