Inflation is once again confirmed to be not much of a concern and well under control outside of the energy sector. That's helpful. It takes a little bit of pressure off the possibility of the Fed going much beyond another two rate increases,
In general it's going to be that type of week where the number of the day dictates the market.
Productivity has been this huge issue for the market, and people remember Greenspan highlighting it in the 1990s.
Economic growth has been modest but positive, but what does it mean in terms of Fed action? Too strong of data is almost going to be viewed as a negative, especially if it's showing an overheated economy.
But there is going to be a little skittishness going into tomorrow.
The market is really waiting for a little relief in terms of interest rates moving higher. Once we get that relief of the Fed being done, you'll see the market start to concentrate on fundamentals and the fact that we're still going to see pretty good earnings growth this year.
The drop in productivity was larger than most people were expecting. It may become a factor in today's trading session.
A healthy Japan is healthy for U.S. companies.
The consumer price index was not a bad number at all. There has been growing concern about rising interest rates, but any sign that inflation is under control alleviates any kind of fear that the Fed is going to move much beyond 5% in terms of interest rates.
The GDP figure was kind of a double-edged sword. It points to the fact that the economy is slower but that also takes pressure off of (interest) rates.