U.S. Inflation Down to 6.4 Percent in January vs. 6.2 Percent Forecast

U.S. equities started the week off with solid gains on optimism tomorrow’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) will show headline inflation continued to retreat last month. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were all up more than 1%.

Tech stocks staged the move higher. Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) each rose more than 3.0% with no specific news catalysts and helped drive a 1.5% gain in the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK). Shares of Apple (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), and IBM (IBM) added 1%. Shares of Amazon (AMZN) gained, and Meta Platforms (META) shares climbed on a report the parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp is planning more layoffs.

Today, earningswise, Coca-Cola (KO), read below, Marriott (MAR), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Restaurant Brands Int'l (QSR) and Entegris (ENTG) are some of the companies reporting earnings ahead of today's open. The Coca-Cola Company just announced that its Q4 net revenue increased by 7% on an annual basis to $10.1 billion, above estimates of around $9.95 billion. The company’s operating income rose by 24% annually, while earnings per share (EPS) fell by 16% to $0.47. For FY, net revenue added 11% compared to 2021 and reached $43 billion. Operating income was up 6% YoY, with the EPS dropping 3% to $2.19. For the full year 2023, the company forecasts organic revenue growth of 7% to 8%, with comparable EPS growth of 4% to 5%. It expects to generate a free cash flow of around $9.5 billion through cash flow from operations of approximately $11.4 billion.

Commoditywise, oil futures sank 0.5% on a report the Biden administration will sell more crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Gold prices also dipped 0.5%. Major cryptocurrencies continued to trade in negative territory.

Meanwhile, stock benchmarks in Europe are edging slightly higher as of 2:30 p.m. CET, ahead of the second preliminary report on Eurozone GDP and employment figures. Investors also assessed the Q1 earnings report by metal smelting giant ThyssenKrupp, as well as job market numbers from the UK.

The German DAX gained 0.38% at the time of writing with Brenntag (BRN.DE), its best performer, climbing 1.92%. At the same time, the British FTSE 100 was up 0.32% at 9:00 am CET and the EURO Stoxx 600 rose by 0.53%. The French CAC 40 increased by 0.39% concurrently. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (1BR1.F) advanced by 2.09%.

Earlier in Asia, Asian shares rose for much of this morning, buoyed by a rebound on Wall Street, as investors awaited U.S. consumer price data later in the day. In a mixed sign of Japan's faltering economic recovery, government data showed that the world's third-largest economy grew at an annual rate of 1.9% from October to December as restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic eased at home and abroad. 0.6%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6 percent in early trade. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 XJO (+0.18%) edged up 0.2%, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added just 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed. Shares in Singapore fell, but shares in Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia rose.