Shoppers at the new H Mart during their grand opening in Westminster, CA, on Thursday, August 7, 2025. <\/p>\n
Jeff Gritchen | Medianews Group | Getty Images<\/p>\n
It was a stellar day for markets as all three major U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
That’s despite a sharper-than-expected month-on-month growth in U.S. consumer prices in August, according to the Labor Department, signaling that tariffs are likely raising inflationary heat.<\/p>\n
While the monthly inflation reading overshot estimates from a Dow Jones survey by 0.1 percentage point, the headline annual reading, as well as both monthly and yearly core data, came in as expected. <\/p>\n
Granted, that’s not much of a comfort. Having expectations of an unpleasant scenario confirmed doesn’t take away its sting.<\/p>\n
That said, the inflation data was accompanied by a separate report that showed weekly jobless claims in the U.S. rose to their highest level in nearly four years.<\/p>\n
“Today’s CPI report has been trumped by the jobless claims report,” wrote<\/a> Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. <\/p>\n This reinforces the narrative that the U.S. Federal Reserve will lower rates by at least 25 basis points during its meeting next week.<\/p>\n But with so much riding on the Fed, it’s crucial to not just celebrate a possible rate cut next week, but also chew on what Chair Jerome Powell has to say about the economy and monetary policy.<\/p>\n What you need to know todayAnd finally…<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen shake hands as they announce a US-EU trade deal after a meeting at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 27, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland.<\/p>\n Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n