S&P 500 inches higher ahead of key inflation data By Investing.com

Investing.com– The S&P 500 was slighter higher Monday, as investors awaited key inflation data this week. 

At 13:17 ET (17:17 GMT), the fell 125 points, or 0.3%, the climbed 0.1% and the gained 94 points, or 0.3%. 

CPI data awaited for more cues

The focus this week is squarely on inflation data, due on Wednesday, for more cues on the economy and cooling inflation. 

The reading is expected to have cooled slightly in July from the prior month – a trend that is likely to ramp up optimism over lower interest rates.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to begin cutting rates in September, amid growing signs of a cooling U.S. economy, but investors are split over whether the U.S. central bank will authorise a 25 basis point or 50 basis point cut. 

The Fed recently signaled that any more encouraging economic data will set the stage for a September rate cut, and that it did not need to see inflation reaching its 2% annual target to begin trimming rates.

“Overall, inflation data pose a two-way risk: a high reading could prompt fears of stagflation, while a low print could give more breath to the hard landing narrative,” Morgan Stanley said in a recent note, though added that it expected the trend of inflation to continue.

Earnings season winds down

Some earnings are also on tap this week, although the quarterly earnings season has now mostly wound down, with Home Depot (NYSE:) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:) are set to report in the coming days. 

Earnings season has been mostly positive, according Factset, of the 91% of the companies in the S&P 500 that reported earnings for Q2 so far, about 78% reported  a positive EPS surprise.

JetBlue, KeyCorp, B. Riley Financial, Starbucks in the spotlight

JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ:) fell 20% after the airline detailed plans to sell $400 million of five-year convertible senior notes.

KeyCorp (NYSE:) climbed 8% after Bank of Nova Scotia made a $2.6B for a 14.9% stake in the bank.

B. Riley Financial Inc (NASDAQ:) fell 52% after the company said it expects to report a loss in Q2 net loss in the range of $14 to $15 per diluted share, adding that it was also suspending its dividend. 

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:) was up 3% after Bloomberg reported that the coffee chain is nearing a deal with Elliot Investment Management offering the latter a board seat on its board. Elliot has been pushing for change at Starbucks to improve performance. 

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)